Received today:
File Code: 1950
Date: June 28, 2011
Dear Sir or Madame,
The Spring Mountains National Recreation Area staff has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Upper Kyle Trailhead Improvement Project located in Spring Mountains National Recreation Area on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. The project proposes improvements to trailhead parking and parking amenities in the Upper Kyle Canyon trailhead complex, which is comprised of the Trail Canyon and Mary Jane Falls parking areas and the Old Ski Tow Historic site parking area. The project area is located at the intersection of Echo Road and Forest Road 111, about a mile from State Highway 157 in Kyle Canyon.
An EA was prepared for this project in 2004; however, I did not sign a decision on the project because of concerns about balancing recreation management with resource management in the Upper Kyle area at that time. I authorized my staff to take a second look at an alternative—the Trail Canyon Wash Alternative—that was eliminated from detailed consideration in the 2004 EA. The environmental consequences of this alternative, along with the three alternatives from the 2004 EA—the No Action, Proposed Action, and No Paving Alternatives— are analyzed in the current EA. Environmental analyses for the original three alternatives remain valid, as further disclosed in the EA.
You submitted comments in response to scoping for this project in 2004 and March 2011. Your scoping comments along with the Forest Service’s responses to them are set out in Appendix B to the EA.
Because of your interest in this project, I am informing you of the availability of the EA for your review and comment during a 30-day “notice and comment” period, commencing with the publication of availability of the EA in the Las Vegas Review-Journal that will take place on Wednesday, June 29, 2011.
I am the Responsible Official and I will make a decision on the project. Comments received during this comment period, along with those received from scoping, will be beneficial to me in making a decision.
At this time, I am considering the Trail Canyon Wash Alternative with some modifications, such as allowing a section of the new parking lot to remain native surface to provide parking for equestrians.
The EA is available to you in several ways. Printed copies of the EA can be viewed at the Spring Mountains NRA Visitor Center and at the Mt. Charleston Public Library, located 1252 Aspen Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89124. For your own personal copy, you can:
View and download the EA on the Forest Service website at
Upper Kyle Trailhead EA
Pick up a printed copy of the EA at the Spring Mountains NRA Office, located at 4701 North Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89130.
Receive a printed copy or an electronic copy on CD by calling (702) 839-5560 and supplying your complete name and mailing address, and whether you desire a CD or a printed copy.
How to Comment and Timeframe
Individuals and organizations wishing to be eligible to file an administrative appeal of the decision must provide specific comments on the proposed actions, along with supporting reasons that the Responsible Official should consider in reaching a decision, during this notice and comment period.
Only those who submit timely comments will be eligible to appeal the subsequent decision under 36 CFR 215. Comments received in response to this solicitation, including names and addresses, will be considered part of the public record for this project. Comments should include the information required pursuant to 36 CFR 215.6(a)(3). Individual members of an organization must submit their own comments to meet the requirements of appeal eligibility; comments received on behalf of an organization are considered as those of the organization only.
Written, facsimile, hand-delivered, oral, and electronic comments will be accepted for thirty (30) calendar days following publication of a notice in the Las Vegas Review Journal. The Legal Notice will be published Wednesday, June 29, 2011. The publication date in the newspaper of record is the exclusive means for calculating the 30-day comment period for this proposal. You should not rely upon dates or timeframe information provided by any other source.
Written comments may be submitted to Jane Schumacher, Interdisciplinary Team leader, 4700 N. Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, Nevada 89130. Comments may be sent by facsimile transmission to 702-839-5599. Oral comments may be made by phone at (702) 839-5570. The office business hours for those submitting hand-delivered comments or those wishing to make oral comments are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Written comments must be postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service, e-mailed, faxed, or otherwise submitted (for example, express delivery service) by 11:59 p.m. on the 30th calendar day following publication of the legal notice. Hand-delivered comments must be time and date imprinted at the correct Responsible Official's office by the close of business on the 30th calendar day following publication of the legal notice.
Electronic comments must be submitted in a format such as an email message in either rich text format (.rtf), or Word (.doc) to
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
. For email comments, please enter “Upper Kyle Trailhead Improvement Project” in the subject line and make sure you provide an identifiable name attached to your comment, otherwise verification of identity will be required. A scanned signature may serve as verification on electronic comments.
Thank you for your time and your willingness to share your thoughts on Upper Kyle Trailhead Project. If you need additional information, please contact Jane Schumacher, Interdisciplinary Team Leader, at (702) 839-5560.
Sincerely,
Stephanie A. Phillips
STEPHANIE A. PHILLIPS
