A Draft Decision Notice (DN) and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) has been prepared for the Chadwick Project. The document is available upon request at the Ava/Cassville/Willow Springs Ranger District Office, 1006 S. Jefferson St., Ava, MO 65608, or on the Mark Twain National Forest website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/projects/mtnf/landmanagement/projects (scroll down to the Chadwick Project and select “View Project”). The Chadwick Project is located solely on Federal lands of the Ava/Cassville/Willow Springs District in Christian County, Missouri. The community of Chadwick, Missouri, lies approximately 4.3 miles to the southwest, and the city of Springfield, Missouri is approximately 30 miles to the northwest. The project area covers approximately 6,525 acres of National Forest System lands. The legal description for the project area is Township 26 North, Range 20 West, Sections 24-27 and 33-36, and Township 25 North, Range 20 West, Sections 2-4, 8-11, and 16, Fifth Principal Meridian. Benefits of implementation would include improved forest health, reduced wildfire risk, improved recreation opportunities, improved infrastructure at the Cobb Ridge campground, and improved wildlife habitat. The proposed project is an activity implementing a land management plan and is subject to the pre-decisional objection process described in 36 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 218, Subparts A and B. The opportunity to object ends 45 days following the publication date of this legal notice in the Phelps County Focus. This publication date is the sole means for calculating the time to file an objection, and those wishing to object should not rely upon dates or timeframe information provided by another source. For additional information about this project, or for a printed copy of the Environmental Assessment and Draft DN/FONSI, contact Tray Hall, Recreation Manager, at (417) 967-4194, or tray.hall@usda.gov. The Responsible Official, Vinci D. Keeler, Forest Supervisor, has identified the actions in the Proposed Action as the desired way forward with this project. Objections will be accepted only from those who have previously submitted specific written comments regarding the proposed project, unless based upon new information arising after the designated comment opportunities (§218.8(c)) have been completed. The objection must contain the minimum content requirements specified in §218.8(d) and incorporation of documents by reference is permitted only as provided in §218.8(b). It is the objector's responsibility to ensure timely filing of a written objection with the reviewing officer. All objections are available for public inspection during and after the objection process. Written objections, including attachments, may be mailed or hand-delivered during normal business hours (Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Central Time, excluding holidays) to the Reviewing Officer for this project, located at: Regional Forester Antoine Dixon, Reviewing Officer Attn.: PAL-LSC Objections, Administrative Review Coord., Suite 800 USDA Forest Service, Eastern Region 626 East Wisconsin Avenue Milwaukee, WI 53202 414-297-3700 (Fax) Electronic objections must be submitted through the Comment Analysis and Response Application (CARA) in a format such as message, plain text (.txt), rich text format (rtf), or Word (.doc or .docx) via the link above, then by clicking “View Project” and selecting “Comment/Object on Project” under “Get Connected”.
Tray Hall
