Bureau of Land Management seeks public input on Late Mungers Integrated Vegetation Management Project
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Grants Pass, Ore. — The Bureau of Land Management is seeking public input from April 28 to May 31 on proposed vegetation treatments near the communities of Murphy and Williams.
The Late Mungers Integrated Vegetation Management Project is designed to promote and develop safe wildfire response, fire resilient land, and habitat for special status species. Proposed treatments include prescribed fire, small diameter thinning, commercial thinning, and selection harvest on approximately 7,435 acres of BLM-administered lands.
The proposal includes 798 acres of proposed commercial treatments divided into two units: Late Mungers and Penn Butte.
The proposal is the first project under the BLM Medford District’s Integrated Vegetation Management for Resilient Lands Programmatic Environmental Assessment (IVM-RL EA).
“The Late Mungers Project is important to manage for spotted owl and late successional species’ habitats and for addressing hazardous fuels near the communities of Murphy and Williams,” said Bill Dean, BLM Grants Pass Field Manager. “I encourage folks to read our FAQ and Determination of NEPA Adequacy documents and come to our webinar to learn more about the proposed project and why we are doing it.”
BLM will release their Determination of National Environmental Policy Act Adequacy on April 28. The document will provide a description of the proposed action, the scope of the project area, background information, and how the effects of implementing the project fall within the analysis of the IVM-RL EA.
On May 10 at 5:30 PM, the BLM will host an informational webinar during which the public is encouraged to provide verbal comment. Attendees will be selected in advance and limited to comments under three minutes in length.
Attendees who wish to share their thoughts at the meeting must register 48 hours in advance of the meeting. The BLM will use a lottery system to randomly select speakers. If selected to speak, attendees will be notified by email 24 hours in advance. Attendees who do not wish to provide a verbal comment but would like to listen will still need to register here: https://bit.ly/Mungers
An in-person project field trip session will be held during the comment period. Details and date will be posted on the ePlanning website, which also includes an FAQ: https://bit.ly/3KZDe6M.
All written comments can be submitted at the ePlanning website (link above). They must be received by May 31, 2022. A decision on the project will not be made until after public comments have been considered.
To learn more about how the BLM is implementing forest resilience projects, please visit: https://on.doi.gov/3uERiNp.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.