§ 215.17 - Informal disposition.

(a) Offer to meet. When an appeal is received, the Responsible Official, or designee, must contact the appellant and offer to meet and discuss resolution of the issues raised in the appeal. This contact shall be made as soon as practicable after the Appeal Deciding Officer receives the appeal and the Responsible Official is notified. In the case of multiple names or organizations, it is the responsibility of the lead appellant (§215.2) to contact any other persons named in their appeal who may desire to participate in the informal disposition meeting. If the appellant(s) decline to meet, the Responsible Official shall so advise the Appeal Deciding Officer.

(b) Time and location of meeting. When an appellant agrees to meet, the initial meeting shall take place within 15 days after the closing date for filing an appeal (§215.15). The location of the meeting shall be in the vicinity of the lands affected by the decision. When the District Ranger is the Responsible Official, meetings will generally be located on or near that Ranger District. When the Forest Supervisor, Regional Forester, or the Chief is the Responsible Official, meetings will generally take place at a location within or near the National Forest.

(c) Meeting structure. Generally, the appellant(s) should be physically present at informal disposition meetings. If the appellant cannot attend a meeting in person because of schedule conflicts or travel distances, alternative types of meetings (such as telephone conferences or video conferences) may be arranged. All meetings are open to the public.

(d) Outcome. After the informal disposition meeting, the Responsible Official shall notify the Appeal Deciding Officer in writing of the meeting participants and which of the following three outcomes occurred.

(1) An appellant and the Responsible Official reach agreement on disposition of all or a portion of an appeal. The appellant shall withdraw all or the agreed upon portion of the appeal by letter to the Appeal Deciding Officer within 15 days of the agreement. When the appellant does not withdraw the appeal in writing, formal review and disposition of the appeal shall continue.

(2) As a result of the agreement reached at the informal disposition meeting, new information is received or changes to the original decision or environmental analysis are proposed. The Responsible Official must follow the correction, supplementation, or revision of environmental documentation and reconsideration of decisions to take action guidance in FSH 1909.15, Chapter 10, section 18, and §§215.3 and 215.4.

(3) An appeal is not entirely resolved through informal disposition. Formal review and disposition of the unresolved portion of the appeal shall continue (§215.18).