03/04/2021
Invitation for Public Comments
The U.S. Forest Service is pleased to invite public comments for the proposed Invasive Plant Control Environmental Assessment. The proposed project is located on the Hector Ranger District of the Finger Lakes National Forest. The 16,439-acre project area includes National Forest System lands in the towns of Lodi, Covert, Hector, and Burdett within Seneca and Schuyler Counties, New York.
The project proposal includes a variety of treatment options for the control of non-native invasive plants. Forest Service staff have been implementing invasive plant control treatments across the Finger Lakes National Forest since the completion of the Invasive Plant Control Project Environmental Assessment and Decision Notice in September of 2008. New information and changed circumstances regarding the 2008 Environmental Assessment have resulted in the new proposal. The new Environmental Assessment and decision document will supersede the 2008 decision.
Written comments will be accepted during a 30-day public comment period ending on March 1, 2021. This comment period is the second and last opportunity for public comment that will provide objection standing prior to a final decision for the project. The first formal opportunity for public input was during a 30-day comment period in March of 2020.
The Invasive Plant Control project environmental assessment, associated maps and direction on how to submit comments can be found on the project website at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=57404
The project is designed to move the forest landscape toward desired resource conditions on National Forest System lands within the project area as established in the 2006 Land and Resource Management Plan.
Comments received from the public will be used to identify possible gaps in the environmental assessment in need of additional analysis. A final environmental assessment is scheduled to be complete by early April followed by the issuance of a draft decision notice. A 45-day objection period for the draft decision notice will be provided to those who have objection standing. A final decision is anticipated by early summer.
If you have questions or would like more information about the Invasive Plant Control Environmental Assessment or how to submit comments, please contact Shawn Langston at 802-747-6743 or email at shawn.langston@usda.gov.
