??The Manti-La Sal National Forest is proposing to use a landscape-scale prescribed fire approach to reduce the risk of uncharacteristic wildfires, increase resilience of existing vegetation groups, and improve ecological function in native vegetation communities and wildlife habitat.
The Forest Service values public participation. Communications from the public regarding this project, including commenters' names and contact information, will become part of the public record. Comments, including anonymous comments, will be accepted at any time. However, comments posted after the close of a designated comment period may not be able to be given full consideration. Anonymous comments and comments submitted after the close of the final designated comment period will not provide the commenter standing for administrative review. Comments, or in some cases other expressions of interest, along with respondent's contact information, submitted during the comment period may be necessary to establish a respondent's eligibility to participate in an administrative review for this proposed action. Interested members of the public should review the proposal's information to determine the applicable administrative review process and the eligibility requirements for that process.
The Manti-La Sal National Forest Vegetation Resiliency Project has been approved as an authorized emergency action under Section 40807 of the 2022 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to determine that an emergency exists where implementation of emergency actions is necessary to achieve reliefs from hazards threatening human health and safety or mitigation of threats to natural resources on National Forest System land or adjacent land. On April 3, 2025, the Secretary of Agriculture released Secretary's Memorandum 1078-006 which designated 112,646,000 acres of National Forest System Lands as an IIJA emergency situation. This project has been approved under that designation.
Projects authorized under this emergency authority adhere to specific requirements and follow several processes, which differ from non-emergency Forest Service projects. Specifically, public notice shall be provided for each authorized emergency action that is determined to require an environmental assessment or environmental impact. This notice fulfills that requirement. In addition, projects authorized under this emergency authority are not subject to the pre-decisional objection process under part 218 of title 36, Code of Federal Regulations. If it is determined that the authorized emergency action requires an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement, those documents are only required to include a proposed agency action and a no action alternative. The public will be provided an opportunity to comment during the preparation of the environmental assessment or environmental impact statement; however, the duration and format of the public comment period is not prescribed.
The EA and supporting documentation can be reviewed here: https://usfs-public.box.com/s/4p3khx9auato2ut212qja82djao8kii7
