The Ranger District planned to issue seven new permits to commercial guide organizations in northern Arizona. Seven groups, including bouldering, mountain biking and birdwatching guides, have already been identified and were expected to receive permits in the spring.

Before issuing long-term special-use permits, forest managers reached out to the public early in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. It aims to describe and analyze the potential impact of the proposed action.

In December, the Flagstaff Ranger District sent out over 600 individual emails soliciting public input on what it called an “investigative process.”

“We received nearly 200 separate comments about our research efforts. We were not able to proceed with the issuance,” district ranger Matt McGrath wrote in the letter. Outfitter Applicant.

Rangers were taken aback by the overwhelming response to public comments for a project of this magnitude.

Flagstaff Ranger District NEPA Coordinator Jessica Richardson said: “The bigger surprise for us was not necessarily that our partners contacted us, but that we had a very active comment period, which you don’t normally see for a project of this size. seen in large scale projects.”

U.S. Forest Service officials believe the project, Flagstaff Ranger District Prospectus for Outfitters and Guide Services, is relatively small and low impact. The decision to make it available to contractors was made after an outside agency was brought in to assess the forest’s capacity.

The agency determined that the Mount Elden/Dry Lake Hills area could withstand a total of 65,700 days of service. Each service day represents the use of one her one forest. For example, if a group of 10 people join his 5-day guided trip, use 50 service days.

In considering long-term permits for equipment suppliers, the Ranger District was prepared to permit only a total of 6,000 days of service. This is part of the forest’s rated capacity.

Feedback came from elected officials, government leaders and members of the community. According to forest officials, public reaction was swift and highly negative, despite the limited increase in traffic and the use of permits that could be explained.

“Many of the comments we have heard reflect general complaints from residents, particularly regarding the Mount Elden Dry/Lake Hills area. I was concerned,” Richardson said. “Concerns range from the recent fires, concerns about the growing number of people in the area, the potential for people to start fires, as well as talk about the safety aspects of bringing people into the area. it goes everywhere.

“We also have a lot of comments about the concept of wildlife and whether wildlife in the area is coping with more people and more pressure. We’ve heard concerns about increased noise and dust pollution.”

Pat McGervey, District Recreation Staff Officer for the Flagstaff Ranger District, said much of the feedback didn’t seem to be informed by the actual suggestions. People reacted to the notion of increased traffic, and Flagstaff Rangers feared the District would be overrun with jeep tours and irresponsible recreational enthusiasts.

“There was some concern that we were trying to turn Flagstaff into Sedona with this proposal,” McGarvey said. I didn’t understand what you were suggesting.”

Bryce Snyder of BETA Bouldering, one of the outfitters who hoped to get the permit in the spring, said misunderstandings and limited communication made the process difficult for all parties from the start.

“We wrote a proposal three years ago and never heard back. We followed up six months later. “At least I feel confused.”

He said that “thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours” were spent creating the company’s applications. Finding the project “dead” on March 30 was more than a little disappointing, he says, Mr. Snyder said.

Ashley Korenblat is CEO of Western Spirit Cycling and another outfitter will be licensed. Her company submitted a 150-page proposal to her Ranger district in Flagstaff in hopes of conducting a small overnight trip in Mount Elden/Dry her Lake Hills area.

According to Korenblat, drafting the proposal was not an easy process.

“It was hard putting together a multi-day trip for what they had to offer. There wasn’t much to work on,” she said. “Beautiful area, popular and relatively easy to get to compared to some of the places we go to. Great place… 3 days or if she can do a 5 day trip It makes sense to check the

It was also a blow to Korenblat to learn that her staff’s time and energy were essentially wasted, but she said she understood the constraints faced by public land managers. I was.

Western Spirit operates in more than 60 ranger districts and public lands throughout the county. They operate in partnership with the non-profit Public Land Solutions. Public Land Solutions works with communities building a recreational economy. Whether these communities are moving away from gas and coal, or working to meet demand as more people move outdoors.

“There is a severe shortage of recreational personnel throughout the system. There is little way to meet the growing needs of the community,” Korenblat said. “I feel very sorry for the Rangers trying to make this happen. Something seems to have gone sideways.”

Korenblat said the backlash from some regions is inevitable as demand for outdoor recreational opportunities grows.

“There are certainly locals who feel like, ‘This is our trail and we don’t want to share it,'” she said. “We were in an area with country roads in front and people didn’t want any other traffic.”

Colenblatt argued that guides are uniquely positioned to take the pressure off front-country trails by providing backcountry access.

“It’s hard to imagine how much trouble some clothing companies cause to the public,” said Korenblat. “No one runs thousands of days. The outfitter’s idea is for them to grow into the backcountry and go places they can’t go on their own.”

She added that for Western Spirit, most trips take place on weekdays, so they don’t add traffic on weekends. According to Korenwald, all outfitter-led activities are supervised, making guides well-suited to be land managers’ support partners, educators for those unfamiliar with outdoor activities.

Flagstaff Ranger District Assistant Recreation Staff Officer and Recreation Special Permit Administrator Paul Dawson said: “People who haven’t done much mountain biking are looking for mountain biking guides. We see the importance of this area to our tribes and a necessary part of our national forests to educate people on how to be good forest users.

“These outfitter guides provide a great opportunity for those unfamiliar with the area. People probably come either way, so we see that as an overall bonus.”

The positive potential for use of trinkets/guides in national forests was the impetus to begin the permitting process.

“That was a big win for us. This is going back to the blueprint and re-evaluating how we want to engage with the community on these kinds of topics going forward and how we can gain more understanding. It was an opportunity,” Richardson said. It’s also an extra set of eyes and ears that are there to help you understand what’s going on.”

According to Richardson, a dangerous part of managing public lands is balancing duties, and the feedback process for this project made that clear. And balancing public concerns with usage needs is a constant and dangerous battle.

“When we talked about the Elden Dry/Lake Hills area, we knew it was an area that had a lot of potential as a high value area. does this kind of rigging and guiding activity,” Richardson said. , is a balancing act between what our resources are telling us they need on the ground. Also, people who want to make national forests available for equipment and guiding purposes. We are also trying to accommodate the community of

“There are many facets to it, but what comes out of it is the need to meet the demands that come in for that kind of activity and the need to balance that with everything else.”

The feedback process for this proposal also started a conversation about regional forest management in general.

“We realized that this wasn’t just about outfitter guides, it was about roads and road conditions, how many people were on the trails, the ski slopes, all sorts of things that tied it all together,” McGervey said. increase. “People want to be asked about different topics in their footsteps.”

The bottom line is that forest managers believe there is more to be done.

“We believe there is a need to engage stakeholders, partners and communities on forest management in these regions. We want you to know that we are committed to working through these discussions. This project will remain canceled until , and we currently have no timetable as to when it will move forward,” McGrath said.

An outfitter who spoke with the Daily Sun said they don’t expect to get a long-term use permit at any point in the future.

“Rangers can’t control the masses, so controlling the outfits, even though the outfitters are a smaller percentage of the visitors, is knee-jerk. That’s the piece the Rangers can control,” Collenblatt said. “They can’t go to the trailhead and say, ‘Today there are too many people and we can’t get out of the car.’ Because, after COVID, there was a huge demand for outdoor access… we’re pushing out a lot of professionals who help with management and education.”