Mr. Garrick Beck
930 Baca Street, #10
Santa Fe, NM 87505

Dear Mr. Beck:

Thank you again for requesting and attending a meeting between various Rainbow Family members and Forest Service employees at the Evanston Ranger District Office on May 15. I expect that you are satisfied with outcomes of that meeting, as are we. Through cooperative efforts like this meeting, we can continue working towards the goal of issuing a non-commercial group use special use permit for this year's Gathering. We look forward to that occurring.

At the meeting in Evanston, you and other Rainbow Family members presented us with three possible gathering site locations. Lynn Bidlack of this office has coordinated with the appropriate Forest Supervisors' offices--the Ashley National Forest and the Wasatch-Cache National Forest--to obtain information regarding obvious concerns with the site(s). The Forests responses are summarized below.

Overall, we believe this site could accommodate a gathering. There are no known conflicts with threatened, endangered, or sensitive wildlife species. A cultural resource survey has been completed for the area and only one small site was located, which we believe could be protected through the permit's operating plan. The vegetation is generally resilient so there should be no long-term effects from the concentrated use that would occur at a gathering. Existing traffic and recreation use levels are relatively low.

If a non-commercial group use permit were issued for this area, we would need to address the following items 'in the operating plan:

1. There is a wetlands area on the west side of Seventy-seven Flat that must be fenced.or otherwise excluded from parking.

2. Access. All individuals coming to the gathering must use specific access roads that the Ashley National Forest will identify. All access to this site crosses tribal grounds, and the Ute Tribe currently only provides public access via three designated routes. It is critical to respect the Tribe's rights and avoid any incidents of trespass. To achieve that end, the Ashley National Forest would require that the portion of Mud Spring Draw (circled on the map you submitted) be excluded from the Family gathering site because it crosses over onto tribal lands and the road that approaches the area from the south is not open to non-tribal members.

3. Water is quite limited in this area. There are a couple of developed springs and a few stock ponds that may or may not have water this July, depending on the amount of precipitation we receive over the next few weeks. This area was initially considered for a suggested Family gathering area, but was eliminated because there were so few reliable water sources.

We have identified significant concerns with this site as follow:

1. The site includes several cultural resource areas that have been placed on the National Historic Register. Because the sites are scattered, mitigation (such as fencing) would not be reasonable or effective. High levels of foot and/or vehicle traffic, as well as establishment of kitchen areas, could seriously compromise these historic resources.

2. There is sensitive wildlife species (Goshawk) breeding in the area. We normally avoid scheduling any Forest Service management activities in such breeding areas until the end of August. The timing and extent of disturbance associated with a Rainbow Family gathering in early July could well result in abandonment and ultimately mortality of any young produced this year.

3. The high elevation and moisture levels in the meadows combine to make them susceptible to damage from trampling and cross-country travel. Past experience has shown that once the ground cover has been compromised, it can be slow to recover.

4. There are safety and traffic management concerns with this site. The meadows identified are accessed via the Red Cloud Loop Road. This road is designated as a Scenic Backway and receives a substantial amount of recreation use. The added volume of traffic that would be associated with a Rainbow Family gathering over the July 4 th holiday period would, at the very least, cause serious congestion on the road. At worst, it could result in accidents on the narrow, twisting approach roads leading into the area.

Because of the above concerns, the Forest Service would not be able to categorically exclude issuance of a special use permit. At a minimum, an environmental assessment (EA) would need to be prepared which cannot be accomplished within the non-commercial group use permit required timeframes.

Overall, this site does not contain any 'extraordinary circumstances.' Affects of the gathering could be mitigated to an acceptable level through use of the special use permit's operating plan. However, the area does have characteristics that may make the site unacceptable to the Rainbow Family.

1. Whitney is a very popular destination area due to the reservoir and the resulting fishing and camping activities. During the 4th of July, every available campsite will be occupied. Most of these campers bring ATVs and ride the many loop trails that exist in the area. There is a road along the ridgeline to the west of the proposed gathering site that overlooks the entire area west of the reservoir.

2. Large amounts of firewood are not available due to the area's popularity.

At our meeting in Evanston, we brought up the topic of Summit County's Mass Gathering Permit requirements. At that time, we did not have much information on the County's ordinance. However, we now believe the mass gathering requirements are issued by the State and, therefore, would need to be addressed for any gathering site located in Utah. We are currently working with the State to determine the extent of these requirements and their affects on any Forest Service special use permit issuance. Although it is a bit premature to make any conclusions, we are confident we can work with the State to address their environmental concerns in a manner acceptable to the Forest Service and the Rainbow Family.

Please contact Lynn Bidlack at (801) 625-5141 if you have questions regarding any of the above information. Lynn will work with the appropriate Forest personnel to obtain necessary site-specific information you may need. We encourage you to narrow the selection of a site as soon as possible, and to submit a special use permit application. Pursuant to the non-commercial group use regulations, timing is critical. The sooner the application is submitted; the sooner the Forest Service can review it; coordinate with you on any additional needed information; and make a decision regarding permit issuance. If you have additional areas you would like us to consider, please submit those as soon as possible. We are pleased with the progress that has been made regarding this year's proposed gathering. Let's continue to work together to make this gathering legal and successful.

Sincerely,