FLAGSTAFF – The Coconino and Kaibab National Forests are hosting two Job Information Sessions to provide information on employment and career opportunities with the Forest Service.
The first session is scheduled for Dec. 12 from 1 to 6 p.m. The second session is Dec. 13 from 9 a.m. to noon. Both sessions will be held at the Flagstaff YMCA, 1001 N. Turquoise Dr., Flagstaff.
FLAGSTAFF – The Forest Service is providing the public with an early opportunity to preview the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and draft Record of Decision (DROD) for Phase 1 of the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI). The FEIS and DROD for the first analysis area on the Coconino and Kaibab National Forests will be available by November 21, 2014 at the 4FRI website.
In order to allow additional time for public consideration of these extensive documents, online access to the FEIS and DROD is being made available prior to the official start of the formal objection period.
“This environemntal analysis and the subsequent decision will help shape restoration action on almost a million acres for a decade,” said Kaibab National Forest Supervisor, Mike Williams. “An early preview will give the public extra time to review, understand, and ask questions about a significant step forward for our landscape.”
The FEIS analyzes about one million acres on the Coconino and Kaibab National Forests in northern Arizona. The Coconino and Kaibab National Forests are proposing 586,110 acres of restoration activities with approximately 355,708 acres on the Flagstaff, Mogollon, and Red Rock districts of the Coconino NF and 230,402 acres on the Williams and Tusayan districts of the Kaibab NF. The completed environmental analysis and a subsequent final ROD for Phase 1, provide the legal authority to accelerate restoration activities.
“The FEIS and DROD incorporate years of stakeholder and public input including key concerns such as the protection of large and old trees. Meaningful collaboration continues to be essential to our success on this project,” added Williams.
In accordance with federal regulations, the Forest Service will offer a 45-day formal objection period on the FEIS, which will begin with the publication of the Notice of Availability (NOA) in the Federal Register. The NOA is expected to be published in early December 2014.
FLAGSTAFF – The Coconino National Forest has issued an emergency closure on all National Forest System lands within the area of the Slide Fire on the Coconino National Forest, in Coconino and Yavapai Counties.
This area closure is implemented as a standard fire operations procedure which helps to protect the public from entering into an area that is still active with fire, so as not to impede the efficiency of firefighters and allow for their safety while they do their job, where snags and rolling rocks will be an issue until mitigated, and during post-fire efforts to abate potential flooding and debris flows. The public is prohibited from entering any trails, roads, or areas within the fire closure area, which will be in force until further notification.
This area, road, and trail closure only affects National Forest System land, roads, and trails within the closure area on the Coconino National Forest. The closure does not affect any private, state, county, or other Non-National Forest System lands within the closure boundary.
Wildfires behave differently in areas where fuels have been previously treated. Fast moving wildfires slow down when they burn onto the footprints of past wildfires, prescribed burns, or thinned areas. As we learn to live with wildfire as a natural part of the ecosystem, we continue to reduce risks associated with uncharacteristic wildfires.
There has been much todo about the abuse of the presidential executive order and, perhaps, rightly so. The regular old trustworthy media outlets will let you know it is much todo about nothing.
Executive orders were intended to inform the employees how they are to carry out the laws created by the Legislative branch (Congress). They were not to be used to circumvent those laws or create laws as they have been used by recent presidents.
But how would you feel if the employee of your employee could write their own “executive orders” with full force of law:
“…punishable as a Class B misdemeanor by a fine of not more than $5,000.00 for individuals and $10,000.00 for organizations, or imprisonment for not more than six (6) months, or both.”
Such is the case with Executive Order Number: 04-13-04-R by M. Earl Stewart of the Coconino National Forest, “Done at Flagstaff, Arizona this 13th day of March, 2013..”
The order is to prevent people from “Possessing or using a bicycle off of National Forest System Roads or trails in the restricted areas.” Those new restricted areas are as follows:
1.Schnebly Hill Area: SR89A to the west, Caner Canyon to the north, Schnebly Hill Road to the east and south.
2.Transept Area: Junction of Verde Valley School Road and Forest boundary in Section 11, then north to junction with Templeton Trail, then east to switchbacks next to private property, then further east to SR179, then south along SR179 to Forest boundary, then west to Verde Valley School Road.
3.Scheurman Mt. – Airport Area: Junction of Lower Red Rock Loop Road and Forest boundary in Section 28 west and north along Lower Red Rock Loop Road to SR89A, then east to Sedona High School and then east along boundary with private/Forest boundary north of Carroll Canyon, continuing east along private boundary north of the Sedona Airport to Brewer Road, then southwest generally following Oak Creek along Forest/private boundary to junction of Ridge Trail with Chavez Ranch Road, follow Chavez Ranch Road west to Upper Red Rock Loop Road, and then west to connect with Lower Red Rock Loop Road.
4.Possessing or using a bike is permitted ONLY in the following slickrock locations that are within the restricted areas, adjacent to a designated trail: Cow Pies, upper and lower Hangover saddles, slickrock between Hiline Saddle and “the Hiline chute”, slickrock bench above Yavapai Vista, and slickrock bench at junction of Templeton and Cathedral Rock trails.
Oh, unless you work for the “forest service” in which case you can drive vehicles of any kind throughout the forest or whatever as long as it is in the performance of your duty.
“This order is needed to prevent impacts to the highly erosive soils, Oak Creek water quality, archaeological sites, and the Casner Canyon RNA resulting from bicycle use off of National Forest system roads and trails,” the order claims.
Doggone bicycles! Ruining nature. I knew you were evil.
The fact that this can be done by a bureaucratic employee is disturbing enough. But according to a recent press release concerning HB 2551, Game and Fish Director Larry Voyles said, “[C]urrently state law says that if a federal entity establishes regulations related to roads, trails, routes and closed areas, they are automatically codified by Arizona state law and if a person operates outside the parameters of the federal regulation, that individual is automatically in violation of state law.”
That means that this Executive Order enjoys full coverage of Arizona State Law. This means that an employee of the employee of our national government can willey-nilley make a law completely bypassing that nasty old Tenth Amendment, the rights of the citizens of Arizona with no due interference from our State Legislature—not to mention in complete violation of the Constitution of the United States of America. And the State employee of the national employee of the national employee has to enforce it. And all without having to file one campaign finance report.
Get it?
Senator Chester Crandell and The Arizona Game and Fish Commission support the bill, “…but the commissions support is contingent on changes that will be offered by the commission allowing the State of Arizona to decide which federal rules and regulations will become enforceable by state wildlife officers under state law.”
By the way, we are not referring to any old H.B. 2551,
“Amending title 6, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding chapter 18; providing for the delayed repeal of title 6, chapter 18, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by this act; relating to financial institutions.”
We are referring to the new and improved H.B. 2551 “strike all” amendment that would,
“Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert:
“Section 1. Section 28-1174, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
28-1174. Operation restrictions; violation; classification
&tc., &tc., ad nauseam.
You’re welcome. If we can confuse you any more, then we should be getting a check from George Soros.