[Nmcaver] Lincoln N.F. reopening Friday June 30

[Carol Belski]

Still no campfires or charcoal, but it will be open!  Thanks to Aaron 
Stockton for emailing this info for distribution.


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Written by Joe Garcia				  Contact:  Joe Garcia – (505) 434-7200
LINCOLN NATIONAL FOREST and FEDERAL AGENCIES RE-OPEN PUBLIC LANDS – 
FIRE RESTRICTIONS REMAIN IN PLACE

Alamogordo, NM (June 27, 2006) – Effective June 30, 2006 at 8 a.m., the 
Lincoln National Forest will lift the forest closure and open the 
Forest for public use. Moving from Stage IV Forest Closure to Stage II 
Fire restrictions and opening the Forest aligns with other federal 
agencies that are open and continue with fire restrictions on their 
lands. Additionally, the Bureau of land Management will lift closures 
in the Fort Stanton Area of Environmental Concern. The Mescalero Apache 
Tribe is considering similar actions on tribal lands.

Stage II Fire restrictions remain in place on the Lincoln National 
Forest. The following acts are prohibited: Building, maintaining, 
attending or using a fire, campfire, charcoal, coal, or stove fire and 
smoking. Pressurized liquid gas or propane stoves, lanterns and heaters 
meeting safety specifications are allowed.
Additional fire restrictions remain on Bureau of Land Management and 
National Park Service lands and at local levels. Open burning is still 
prohibited on non-federal, non-municipal lands in southeastern New 
Mexico. Please check with local agencies and authorities. As always, 
fireworks are always prohibited on all federal lands.

“The moisture we have recently received on the Smokey Bear, Sacramento 
and Guadalupe Ranger Districts is allowing me to lift the forest 
closure,” said Lou Woltering, Lincoln National Forest Supervisor. “All 
Lincoln National Forest employees would like to say thank you to the 
public and communities for their cooperation during the forest closure 
and imposed fire restrictions. Hotshot crews and air resources are and 
will remain in place. Community protection and public safety are always 
a first priority and keeping the Stage II Fire Restrictions in place is 
a continuing reminder to
practice good fire safety while recreating on public lands. The Lincoln 
National Forest remains prepared and diligent during this 2006 wildfire 
season.”
All of the agencies in southeastern New Mexico would also like to thank 
the public and communities for their diligence to fire safety so far 
this year. Most of the catastrophic fires that occur this time of year 
are human-caused. So far in the mountain areas, we have had very few 
fires and with everyone’s help, we can continue this positive trend.
As a reminder, it will take more rains and snow through the rest of the 
monsoon and winter seasons to help bring moisture levels back up within 
the Forest. Please continue to practice good fire safety.

For additional information on National Forest restrictions, please 
contact the Smokey Bear Ranger District Office at (505) 257-4095; the 
Sacramento Ranger District Office at (505) 682-2551 and the Guadalupe 
Ranger District at (505) 885-4181. Offices are open Monday through 
Friday,
7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

	For more information on fire or the Lincoln National Forest, please 
review our website at:  www.fs.fed.us/r3/lincoln and additional fire 
information can be obtained at http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/fire and 
http://www.nmfireinfo.com, or call toll free 1-877-864-6985.


NOTE TO MEDIA:

There are 4 different stages (levels) of restriction/closures in 
response to Fire risk:
StageI  (1st Level)--No smoking outside of vehicles, or buildings.  No 
open campfires outside of developed sites.  No fireworks.
StageII  (2nd Level )--In addition to Stage I, adds prohibitions for 
explosives, chainsaw or other internal combustion engines (possibly 
during certain hours), welding, and using a motor vehicle off forest 
development roads; further restricts use of campfires.
Stage III  (3rd Level)--The closure of specific areas of the Forest (as 
detailed in the Closure Order)
Stage IV  (4th Level )--Full forest closures (as detailed in the 
Closure Order)