Write Your Own Letter

A form letter is an easy way to let the Forest Service know that you are concerned about an issue. But the best way to let them know how you feel is to write your own letter. A personalized letter has more impact, it gets more attention and it lets you say things just the way you want them said.

The current action, a Scoping Notice, allows the Forest Service to decide whether to conduct an Environmental Assessment (EA) of a project and what issues to include in the EA. If the Forest Service doesn’t get any responses that identify problems with the project, or if it only receives a few comments, it can easily decide that no assessment is needed and the proposed projects will be allowed to start with no changes.

If they decide an EA is needed, the Forest Service will use your comments to decide which issues to study. If no one mentions a specific issue it probably won’t get studied. So include everything you think is important. If significant issues are found during the EA, an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be prepared. Both the EA and EIS processes allow for additional comment and public input. But those processes will not happen if they don’t receive comments to the Scoping Notice.

If you are concerned about the proposed projects and feel they deserve additional study and you would like more input into the projects, you should respond to the Scoping Notice now and ask the Forest Service to conduct an Environmental Assessment AND develop an Environmental Impact Statement.

How to write your own letter:

Read the Scoping Notice. Be sure your letter addresses the projects in the notice. If you write about projects that are not in the notice, the Forest Service will ignore those comments.

The scoping notice is here.

The project map is here.

Consider the Forest Service’s purpose and need, and focus on the specifics. For these projects the Forest Service is concerned with trees and vegetation, wildlife, water, local communities, and recreation. The Forest Services specific areas of concern can be found in the Forest Management Plan. It's a dense, hard to read document, but you can quickly understand what they are interested in by scanning the Table of Contents.
Provide support for your statements with facts and references. This isn't a vote, saying you don't like something isn't enough, you have to explain why it is bad idea.
There is room in your response for emotion (after all, these projects could affect our water) but try to keep your response based on rational arguments.
Make your comments solution-oriented.
Say what you want done. For example, if you are worried about a project's effect on water you might say “I want the water to be monitored for quality and quantity.”
Be sure to mention things like traditional lifestyles, acequias, local agriculture, and cultural issues where they are relevent.
Be polite. Don’t be angry. Don't accuse the Forest Service of bad things.
See the form letter on this site for a summary of what we think are the important issues. Read other people's comments to see what they think is important.
Responses are due May 6, 2022 but don’t wait till then. Write your response today and submit it today.
Send your friends a link to this website and ask them to write their own letter today.

Read this for more information on writing a response to a Scoping Notice:

You can submit your comments via snail mail, in person, by fax or upload it to the Forest Service website. To submit comments electronically go to: https://cara.fs2c.usda.gov/Public/CommentInput?Project=61390.

Instructions for other ways to submit your comments are on the last page of the Scoping Notice.

However you submit it, be sure to include “Taos Ski Valley Gondola and Other Improvements Project” in the subject line or at the very beginning of your letter.

The Forest Service asks that you do not enter any personally identifiable information such as address or email in the body of your comment.

How to submit a comment anonymously:

Paste your comment in the text field,
Leave the name, address etc. boxes blank,
Select "Do Not Contact Me in the Future" in the Contact box,
Check the "I'm not a Robot" box and
Submit your comment.

Here is a template to help you get stated:

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May 6, 2022

James Duran, Forest Supervisor

℅ Paul Schilke, Winter Sports Coordinator

P.O. Box 110

Questa, NM 87556

Re: Taos Ski Valley Gondola and Other Improvements Project

Mr. Duran,

[Introduce yourself and state why you are interested in these projects]

[Talk about each item you are concerned about.]

[Explain why it is a problem.]

[Tell the Forest Service what action you want them to take.]

[Repeat for each item of concern]

Overall, I am asking you to cancel some of these projects and take additional time to study the potential effects of the others in detail. In addition to the actions requested above I’m asking the Forest Service to conduct an Environmental Assessment and to also develop an Environmental Impact Statement for these projects. Thank you in advance for acting on my concerns.

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