In an effort to modernize communications amongst first responders in the Los Angeles Metropolitan area, Jerome Perez, Angeles National Forest (ANF) Supervisor, signed a decision on Oct. 31, leasing 13 sites in the national forest for installation of a Land Mobile Radio (LMR) system operated by the Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communications System (LA-RICS) Authority.

This LMR system will unify local, state, or federal emergency responders communications through the use of a single state-of-the-art network.

“Amongst all public safety agencies in the Los Angeles Region, we have the motto of ‘one-team-one-fight’ and this decision will further deepen our relationships and passion for protecting life, property, and public lands,” said Jerome Perez.

The 13 proposed project sites distributed across the forest are a part of a proposed 60-site LMR system through LA County. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is providing federal funding for the County-wide LMR project and this ANF specific LA-RICS project is a subset of the larger project, tiered from a Programmatic Environmental Assessment conducted by FEMA. The additional site specific analysis was completed to meet Forest Service requirements and ensure that the project is in compliance with the ANF Land Management Plan (LMP or Forest Plan).

ANF amended the Forest Plan considering tower heights and scenic integrity objectives. The scope and scale of these project-specific LMP amendments are small, affecting only 3 of the 13 sites. The amendments are only for the LA-RICS project.

For additional information concerning this decision contact Justin Seastrand, Public Services Staff Officer, at justin.seastrand@usda.gov. You may also visit LA-RICS here for more information regarding the Land Mobile Radio project.