The comment period for the draft environmental analysis of the the Mount Elden/Dry Lake Hills Recreation Planning Project, or MEDL, ends this week.

The plan outlines the next decade of development for non-motorized recreational trails the Mount Elden/ Dry Lake Hills area just north of Flagstaff, including the construction of 31 miles of new trail and the adoption of 23 more miles of existing unauthorized trails.

They also propose closing about 26 other miles of existing, mostly unauthorized, trails.

The Coconino National Forest has been taking comments on the draft plan since the beginning of June. That comment period ends on July 1, but Patrick McGervey with the Coconino National Forest said this won’t be the last time the public will be able to make their voices heard on the project.

McGervey said after the comment period ends, they will take that input before releasing a final environmental assessment in September. There will then be a final objection period that is expected to last until about November -- at which time they will be allowed to move forward with implementation, he said.

“We really don't anticipate doing anything until probably April of next year,” McGervey said.

McGervey said the draft plan was developed after another public comment period was conducted last year based on their initial plans. At that time, he said, they received almost 400 comment letters that spoke to as many as 1,400 distinct topics on their plan.

“We kind of spent the winter looking at and tweaking the proposed action. And then and then earlier this spring, we sat down with some stakeholders and said, ‘From the comment letters, here's what we came up with, here are the things we changed.’ And so that the product that we have out right now for comment is based on those changes,” McGervey said.

McGervey said a large portion of the plan is designed to reduce the number of unauthorized trails that are being used by those recreating in the area by either making them official or closing them.

They hope to build enough new trails that members of the public no longer feel it is necessary to cut their own unauthorized trails. Because they don’t go through any planning or review process, McGervey said unauthorized trails are often problematic based on the areas they cut through.

Among the changes to the plan they made are the development of a new official trail system at Mount Elden Environmental Study Area in the base of Mount Elden. Many unauthorized trails in that area would then close.

McGervey said the plan also pulls back on planned trails in the Schultz Creek area in order to better preserve some of those areas for wildlife. There will be some additional trails built in the Schultz Creek area but most will be located farther to the south, closer to the current trailhead.

Along Mt. Elden Road, changes include the construction of two new downhill trails to compensate for the closing of the unauthorized Wasabi and Funonions trails. The changes would also relocate the Upper Oldham Trail and adoption of some unauthorized trails, including portions of the Private Reserve and Lone/Soaring Eagle trails.

On the other side of the hill, the construction of a new downhill trail is suggested from the Sunset Trail near its junction with Brookbank down to Schultz Tank.

To the east, the changes include adopting trails and adding connectivity to the area of Sandy Seep area was also added to the plan, as was eliminating some other sections of train in the area.

More information about the plan can be found on the Coconino National Forest's website, where members of the public may comment on the project.