PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD (June 7, 2023 through July 6, 2023)

The BLM initiated a public comment period on the preliminary environmental assessment for the Lower Gunnison River camping, reservation, and allocation project on June 7, 2023. Please see the information below for description of the type of information that the BLM is requesting from the public. To submit comments click on the Participate Now or Documents link in the left navigation bar. You may need to scroll to the right in the the participate now table to see the green participate now button on the page that will allow you to submit comments. 

How to Comment:            
The BLM is seeking comments about the Proposed Action, alternatives, and analysis in the preliminary environmental assessment. Substantive comments that will be addressed in the final environmental assessment are those that revealed new information, missing information, or flawed analysis that would substantially change conclusions. 

Substantive comments do one or more of the following:

a. question, with reasonable basis, the accuracy of information in the EA.
b. question, with reasonable basis, the adequacy of methods for, or assumptions used for the environmental analysis.
c. present new information relevant to the analysis.
d. present reasonable alternatives other than those analyzed in the EA.
e. cause changes or revisions in one or more of the alternatives.
f. make factual corrections.

Comments that are not considered substantive by the BLM include the following:

a. comments in favor of or against the proposed action or alternatives without reasoning that meet the criteria listed above (such as “we disagree with Alternative Two and believe the BLM should select Alternative Three”).
b.  comments that only agree or disagree with BLM, Forest Service, or BOR policy or resource decisions without justification or supporting data that meet the criteria listed above (such as “more grazing should be permitted”).
c. comments that don’t pertain to the project area or the project (such as “the government should eliminate all dams,” when the project is about a grazing permit).
d. comments that take the form of vague, open-ended questions.

The BLM is accepting written comments submitted through this ePlanning site and by mail: BLM Grand Junction Field Office, ATTN: Lower Gunnison River Campsites, 2815 H Road, Grand Junction, CO 81506.  A project map of the proposed Lower Gunnison River Campsite Plan is available for review at the Grand Junction Field Office or under the Documents page.

While you can ask us in your comment to withhold from public review your personal identifying information (including your address, phone number, e-mail address, etc.), we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

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PREVIOUS PUBLIC SCOPING PERIOD (November 15, 2021 through December 15, 2021) 

The BLM initiated a public scoping period on November 15, 2021. Please see the information below for description of the type of information that the BLM requested from the public during the scoping period. Scoping comments that the BLM received were used to develop the preliminary environmental assessment EA. 

What is Public Scoping?
Scoping is the initial public involvement process by which the BLM and other Federal agencies solicit internal and external input on the issues, impacts, and potential alternatives that will be addressed in an environmental impact statement or environmental assessment as well as the extent to which those issues and impacts will be analyzed in the NEPA document. Public scoping helps federal agencies identify possible alternatives, refine the proposed action, identify possible cumulative effects, obtain new information, refine issues, and identify new issues. 

Purpose of External Scoping

        Your input during scoping helps the BLM:

- Refine the Proposed Action.
- Identify issues that could lead to design features or mitigation measures that may be analyzed.
- Generate information that may be used during the permitting or consultation process.
- Identify permits, surveys, or consultations required by other agencies.
- Identify cumulative effects from other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable actions.
- Identify alternatives to the Proposed Action.

An issue:  

- Has a cause and effect relationship with action alternatives
- Is within the scope of the analysis
- Has not been decided by law, regulation, or decision
- Is amendable to scientific analysis rather than conjecture