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The U.S. Forest Service has agreed to hold additional public meetings and work with an oversight committee as it examines the environmental impact of a proposed mine at the former Rosemont Ranch.

The additions were made after the last of three forums on the upcoming environmental impact statement process dissolved into chaos.

Forest Service representatives walked out of a meeting in Patagonia last week after area residents demanded an opportunity to speak in an open forum, rather than simply view informational displays and submit written comments.

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, whose district includes the proposed mine site, and U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva asked the Forest Service to extend the comment period and allow for additional public meetings.

Giffords and Forest Supervisor Jeanine Derby announced the changes Friday.

In addition to an already scheduled April 5 meeting in Vail, the Forest Service will hold two additional open houses, one in Sahuarita and the other in Sonoita. Those open houses will start with an explanation of the process, and representatives of the Forest Service and Rosemont Copper, a subsidiary of Augusta Resource Corp., will be clearly identified.

Then, three public meetings will take place, one each in central Tucson, the Green Valley-Sahuarita area and the Sonoita-Patagonia area. Dates have not been set for any of the additional meetings.

"I know that because it is a deeply emotional concept for many people, it is important for people to express their opinions to us verbally," Derby said.

Giffords praised the Forest Service for going above and beyond its legal requirements in the face of a public outcry.

The public comment period now will extend to July 11.

Also, there will be a review of the selection process for the consultant doing the study, and a working group composed of Pima County officials, a staff member from Giffords' office and members of the public will oversee the environmental impact statement process.

That process is expected to take at least a year.

Rosemont Copper wants to develop an open-pit copper mine on a combination of public and private land in the Santa Rita Mountains, southeast of Tucson. A coalition of environmental and community groups opposes the plan.

Forest Service spokeswoman Heidi Schewel said the agency will use comments and questions from the public to determine what issues to address in the environmental impact statement.

She said specific concerns, such as the impact of mining on groundwater, are more helpful than general comments about whether mining is good or bad.

The Forest Service can reject Rosemont's current plan of operations, but it can not say it won't allow mining in the National Forest. Instead it can lay out the things Rosemont must to do to mitigate or avoid certain environmental hazards.

The mining company then would have to decide whether it makes economic sense to proceed.