Hi I'm Mary Ellen Fitzgarald and I work on the Mt. Hood National Forest. The field I
work in is Special Uses Administration group. We have dozens of special uses we have on
the Mt. Hood. Some examples are ski areas, outfitter guides, recreation events, power
lines, sewer lines, water lines, communication towers, beekeepers, and then we have non-commercial
group uses like a church group that wants to do a special trek on the Barlow Road. A
few things to think about when putting your proposal together. We want you to have success
so key thing is make sure you're using the right form. Most prospective permit holders
are going to use the SF-299 and be using the Mt. Hood Supplement that helps them get all
the specifics that we need on this forest. Be sure to check the website. There's a chart
that shows what form to use for what kind of proposal you have. And make sure it's complete.
That includes a map that is reall crystal clear and that can be photo copied and reproduced
easily. Ideally you'd be able to submit it to us electronically. To do a real quick summary.
Step 1: Become familiar with the process on our website. Make sure you have the right
application form. And know if there's an open season. If you need to subit your proposal
during an open season. Also, again more of that preproposal is maybe vet your idea over
the phone with us. Give us a call and say, "I'm thinking of this what are your thoughts.
Are there any fatal flaws. Step 2: Submitting your proposal. Make sure it's complete. If
things are missing we're going to send it back to you and if you don't get it back to
us in the open season window, we can't accept it. Getting that application really just really
clean and focus on the purpose and need as you're getting that application together.
Step 3: For the Forest Service to review your proposal through the screening criteria and
accept it or not. At that point, if it is accepted, it becomes an application. Step
4: Enter into a cost recover agreement if needed and that varies on the use and how
much environmental review. Step 5: To do that environmental review and there are multiple
steps within that. And then Step 6: Second decision the line officer has to make and
that is making the decision on the environmental review whether to issue a permit or not basically.
Whether to authorize the activity. The Final Step: actually issue the permit. A common
question we get asked is, "How long will it take to get a permit?" That depends upon the
complexity of the project. Some projects are very simple, especially if it doesn't include
any ground disturbance. And others are more complex. So there isn't a straight-forward
answer to that. When you submit your proposal, once it is accepted, we can probably give
you a pretty good idea of that. If you're under a tight timeline, we might not be able
to make it so that's where calling us ahead, vetting your ideas with us, so you know what's
realistic. Many of you already have permits with the Mt. Hood National Forest and your
proposal involves making a change to your existing permit. And possibly you've already
vetted this idea with the line officer, the district ranger for example or with your permit
administrator. We still need you to submit your proposal during the open season. Thanks
for watching. We want our prospective permit holders to have success in their application
process so use all the tools we have on our website. Give us a call to vet ideas and to
sound things off. And we look forward to hearing from you.