Trail Riders Call to Action: your input as an equestrian is vitally important to the future use and design of trails in the Santa Fe National Forest. Please participate to protect wilderness access for horses and riders!
The Santa Fe National Forest (SFNF) is initiating the next phase of Forest Plan Revision where we must determine if there are areas within our boundaries that are suitable or not suitable for designation as Wilderness. The four steps in this process are: 1) Inventory, 2) Evaluation, 3) Analysis, and 4) Recommendation. Although the specifics for each of these steps are broadly defined by Forest Service directives (FSH 1909.12 Chapter 70), your input can have an impact by helping us develop criteria specific to the SFNF.
We are holding a series of public meetings in communities across the Forest to seek your input on developing the criteria used to determine if there are areas both suitable and not suitable to be included as wilderness. The schedule of dates, times, and locations for the public meetings on Wilderness Inventory and Evaluation criteria is attached. We encourage you to attend one of these meetings to provide input that will help us develop criteria based on your activities, experiences, and feelings about the Forest. In addition, the April 28 Technical Meeting in Santa Fe is your opportunity to give us feedback on our preliminary interpretations of the criteria for both the Inventory and Evaluation steps. All meetings are open to the public, and informational material will be posted in advance on our website at www.fs.usda.gov/goto/santafeforestplan.
Meeting Dates:
| Wilderness Public Meeting Schedule | |||
| Date | Time | Location | Contact Info |
| Monday April 25, 2016 | 6pm-8pm | UNM West Rm 1225 (also Room 1222 after 6:16pm) 2600 College Ave NE Rio Rancho, NM 87144 |
(505) 925-8669 |
| Tuesday April 26, 2016 | 6pm-8pm | El Rancho Community Center 394 County Road 84 El Rancho, NM 87506 |
(505) 455-2195 |
| Thursday April 28, 2016 (Technical Meeting) |
9am-12pm | Santa Fe Community College Jemez Rooms 6401 Richards Ave Santa Fe, NM 87508 |
(505) 428-1000 |
| Monday May 2, 2016 | 6pm-8pm | Highlands University Sanchez Teacher Education Center (STEC) Rooms 203 & 204 1031 11th Street Las Vegas, NM 87701 |
(505) 425-7511 |
| Tuesday May 3, 2016 | 6pm-8pm | Santa Fe Community College Jemez Rooms 6401 Richards Ave Santa Fe, NM 87508 |
(505) 428-1000 |
If you cannot attend a public meeting, we encourage you to submit input on the Wilderness Inventory and Evaluation criteria by one of the following methods:
◦ Email recommendations to [email protected]
◦ Mail recommendations to:
Forest Plan Revision
Santa Fe National Forest
11 Forest Lane
Santa Fe, NM 87508
◦ Fax recommendations to 505-438-5390
◦ Hand-deliver recommendations to the Forest Headquarters at 11 Forest Lane in Santa Fe between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Comment forms for both general and technical comments are available on our website. Recommendations received by May 20, 2016, will be the most helpful.
Your participation over the last year has helped us complete the Draft Assessment to evaluate current conditions and create Need-for-Change statements to identify specific targets for revision. The Draft Assessment, the 12 resource focus areas, and preliminary need-for-change statements are posted on the Forest Plan Documents page. We expect the Final Assessment and Need-for-Change statements to be available later this spring when the Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement is published in the Federal Register. At that point in the process, we can begin drafting components of the new Forest Plan that will guide the restoration, management, use, and protection of the SFNF for many years to come. I have no doubt that the end result will be enriched by your willingness to devote time, energy, and knowledge to this important process
Please feel free to send questions or comments to [email protected] or call a member of the Forest Plan Revision Core Team at 505-438-5442. We look forward to, and sincerely appreciate, your continued involvement.
Forest Plan Revision Team
Santa Fe National Forest
11 Forest Ln.
Santa Fe, NM 87508
Please consider making Holy ghost parking lot horse trailer friendly.
Please consider making Holy ghost parking lot horse trailer friendly. Also would be wonderful to have trailer parking somewhere for Windsor trail head on the Tesuque side of the trail, along with more trailer parking space below santa fe ski runs.
Hi Mary Anne,
Thanks for commenting. If you would like your comments to be logged by Santa Fe National Forest, you can use the links in the article to submit them directly. Even better, if it is convenient for you, attend one of the meetings in person. The list of times and locations is also in the article. We appreciate your participation!
Please keep the Wilderness areas clear of mountain bikes. They are traveling to fast and are to quite to be on the trails with hikers and people that are horseback. I have been in areas in NM and Az. where the mountain bikes and horses were allowed . It is a recipe for a disaster. In 2013 I was hired to take care of 430 head of cattle in the Pecos Wilderness, NM. I have ridden in the Pecos Wilderness for 23 years and believe that motorized vehicles and mountain bikes would be a disaster for the Pecos Wilderness