MEDL Comment Period for Trails
Mount Elden Dry Lake Hills Environmental Assessment Taking Comments
From Tuesday, June 1st through Tuesday, July 6th the land manager, Coconino National Forest, is taking comments on the proposed actions to be taken on the most popular trails in all of Flagstaff: The MEDL trails. FTI wants you to feel empowered to submit your comments on the analysis so that the Forest Service can best serve you, the community, in enacting this plan.
The Mount Elden Dry Lake Hills Recreation Planning Project Environmental Analysis is a 95 page document full of useful information for hiker, bikers, equestrians, conservationists, and for all those who care about the land and the trails north of Flagstaff. Pages 77 – 84 contain maps, imaged below, of the trail plans which includes which trails will be newly built, which current trails will be adopted, and which current social trails will be rehabilitated. We feel this is the easiest part of the document to quickly reference. If you only have a few minutes, take a sneak peek on what trails might be heading our way in the next 5 years.
To submit your comments, use the following link: https://cara.ecosystem-management.org/Public/CommentInput?project=38239
Special note on commenting: “Attachments to comments must be submitted only in one of the following three formats: Microsoft Word, rich text format(rtf), or Adobe Portable Document format (pdf). Comments received in response to this initial request, including names, addresses, and any other information provided with the comments, will be considered a part of the public record and will be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and released if requested. If you are not able to access the online form, comments may also be submitted by regular mail to 5075 N. Highway 89, Flagstaff, AZ 86004; by fax at 928.527.8288; or hand delivered to the Flagstaff District Office at the above address between 8:00 am and 12:00 pm, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, except holidays”
This month is the month to comment on this plan. As pat say’s in the video below, “Now is the time to take some time… and give us valuable feedback and comments.”
Video from Coconino National Forest
Images from MEDL EV
The Mt. Elden-Dry Lake Hills area is the most popular and heavily used recreation area on the Flagstaff Ranger District. Over the years an increase in recreational use has led to deteriorating conditions on system trails and a system of unauthorized trails, both of which increase potential for impacts to natural and cultural resources. The purpose of the project is to develop a premier trail system while responding to ongoing negative impacts from unsustainable recreational uses to natural resources such as wildlife, watershed and soil conditions, recreational experience, and vegetation.
