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Project Update #1

January 2002
TONGASS LAND MANAGEMENT PLAN
SEIS Wilderness Evaluation
 
Status of Work   |   Issue Identification   |   Preliminary Alternatives   |   Web Site   |   What's Next   |   How You Can Respond
 
We are sending you this project update to summarize our progress in the development of the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the Tongass National Forest Plan. We are preparing the SEIS in response to the recent court decision in Sierra Club v. Lyons, and we will evaluate wilderness recommendations for roadless areas in the Tongass.
 
STATUS OF WORK
 
Two main components of the SEIS need to be updated to better reflect current conditions in roadless areas: 1) the 1996 roadless inventory map used in the 1997 Forest Plan Revision and 2) individual roadless area descriptions from the 1989 Analysis of the Management Situation, Appendix C.
 
Roadless Inventory Map—This map is being updated to reflect the most current land ownership information and the new developments (roads, timber harvests, powerlines, etc.) implemented since 1996. It is using a more refined mapping process that eliminates only the narrowest stringers of unroaded lands and more closely follows actual developments. All unroaded lands were identified and then stratified into three general categories: greater than 5,000 acres, between 5,000 and 1,000 acres, and less than 1,000 acres. This process allowed us to reconfirm the individual roadless areas included in the 1996 inventory and to determine if new individual areas needed to be added to the main inventory map. Most changes from the 1996 roadless inventory map are now reflected in the new roadless area inventory map seen on our Web site. As individual roadless area descriptions are reviewed and updated, additional adjustments to the map are anticipated.
 
Roadless Area Descriptions—Similar to the inventory map updates, the individual roadless area descriptions are being updated to better reflect current conditions and Forest Service Manual and Handbook direction, and to improve the description of the various resources and uses associated with each area. This process includes a review and update of the Wilderness Attribute Rating System (WARS) that was originally applied to each area in 1989, as well as how each individual roadless area could contribute to the National Wilderness Preservation System.
 
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ISSUE IDENTIFICATION
 
This step of the process is necessary to help us identify or predict what resources or uses could be most affected by the recommendation and management of new wilderness areas. Any alternative that proposes new wilderness recommendations would be likely to create some changes in effects and/or outputs in relation to the existing Forest Plan. Our intent is to show these effects in the SEIS; however, some of these changes are more likely to influence the comparison between alternatives so more emphasis and analysis will be placed on these issues.
 
The major issues can be summarized into two broad statements that relate to the positive and negative effects of new wilderness designation:
 
  1. There is concern over whether new roadless areas should be recommended for long-term protection through wilderness designation and, if so, which ones and how many should be recommended. This concern is based on the potential benefits of wilderness designation to recreation, wildlife, biodiversity, and other resources.
  2. The designation of additional areas as wilderness would have social and economic effects, including those related to the recreation and tourism industry, the timber industry, the mining industry, and transportation and utility projects. This is a concern, especially relative to the well being of the communities in Southeast Alaska.
 
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PRELIMINARY ALTERNATIVES
 
As indicated by the U.S. District Court for Alaska, there is a need to evaluate roadless areas in the Tongass National Forest and consider them for wilderness recommendations; therefore, the SEIS will focus on new wilderness-type recommendations only. The alternatives discussed below reflect this focus.
 
The SEIS will not consider other land allocation options, such as changing current non-development land use designations (LUDs) to development LUDs. Also, it will not explore new biodiversity or conservation biology strategies, nor will it represent a totally new Forest Plan Revision. Issues that could be related to these and other non-wilderness-type subjects can be considered during future Forest planning efforts, which include a scheduled mid-plan review (approximately 5 years into the Revised Plan) and a review at about year 10 of the Revised Plan.
 
Land Use Designations (LUDs) are zones across the Forest that define the different management prescriptions of the Forest Plan. The timber production, modified landscape, and scenic viewshed LUDs allow timber harvest and road construction and are often referred to as “development LUDs.” Most other LUDs do not permit scheduled timber harvest and are collectively called “non-development LUDs.”
 
Many individuals, interest groups, tribal and other governmental agencies, and Congress have expressed interest in the management of inventoried roadless areas on the Forest over the last several decades. In identifying potential alternative frameworks for the SEIS, we reviewed Congressional proposals for wilderness designation and protection proposals from the Southeast Conference, the Alaska Loggers Association (now Alaska Forest Association), Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, State of Alaska agencies, and others. We also examined specific values and attributes associated with various roadless areas as part of potential alternatives. This effort led to the identification of about 15 potential alternatives.
 
These alternative concepts were presented to the Forest Supervisor and his staff at a working meeting (which was open to the public) on November 19, 2001, in Ketchikan. Work at this meeting resulted in identification of eight alternatives that will be analyzed in more detail and represent the alternatives expected to be included in the SEIS. The eight alternatives represent a variety of approaches including the No-Action Alternative, which would have no new wilderness recommendations, and seven action alternatives, which would recommend anywhere from 700,000 to 9 million acres as new wilderness. Brief descriptions of the eight alternative frameworks are as follows:
 
No Action—This alternative is the same as the existing Forest Plan and would not recommend any new wilderness.
 
High Wilderness Attribute Areas—This alternative would recommend for wilderness those areas that have high wilderness attributes based on their WARS rating, the level of interest expressed by the public and Congress, and their relative contribution to the National Wilderness Preservation System.
 
High Wilderness Attribute Areas in Non-Development LUDs—This alternative would recommend for wilderness those areas that occur in non-development LUDs and have high wilderness attributes based on their WARS rating, the level of interest expressed by the public and Congress, and their relative contribution to the National Wilderness Preservation System.
 
Existing LUD II Areas—This alternative would recommend for wilderness all areas that have previously been designated as LUD II by Congress.
 
LUD II is a special land use designation and currently applies to 12 areas identified by the Tongass Timber Reform Act. These areas are to be managed in a roadless state to retain their wildland characteristics, but, unlike wilderness, limited development is permitted, such as some water and power, mining, habitat, and transportation developments (under certain circumstances).
 
H.R. 2908—This alternative would recommend all areas identified for wilderness and LUD II designation included in the Alaska Rainforest Conservation Act of 2001 (H. R. 2908) introduced in the House of Representatives in September 2001. This is the only alternative that would include recommendations for new LUD II areas along with new wilderness.
 
Maximum Wilderness—This alternative would recommend for wilderness all Inventoried Roadless Areas unless they clearly are not eligible for wilderness.
 
Combination of H.R. 987 and the 1999 ROD—This alternative would recommend for wilderness all areas (including existing LUD II) that were identified in the House of Representatives bill introduced in 1989 (H. R. 987), but that were not designated as wilderness in the Tongass Timber Reform Act of 1990. In addition, this alternative would include the 18 Areas of Special Interest identified in the 1999 Record of Decision (ROD) issued by Under Secretary of Agriculture Lyons.
 
Combination of H.R. 987, the 1999 ROD, H.R. 2908, and High Wilderness Attribute Areas in Non-Development LUDs—This alternative would recommend for wilderness all areas included in H.R. 987 that are not already in wilderness, any additional areas included in the Areas of Special Interest identified in the 1999 ROD, any additional areas recommended for wilderness in H.R. 2908 (does not include LUD II recommendations), and any additional areas with high wilderness attributes in non-development LUDs.
 
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VISIT OUR WEB SITE
 

www.fs.fed.us/r10
 
We developed a Web site specific to the SEIS to provide:
  1. Background information on the project,
  2. An explanation of the planning process we are following, and
  3. Roadless area maps at various scales and detailed descriptions of individual roadless areas.
 
We continually update information to the Web site as it is developed, including the individual roadless area maps and descriptions. In fact, much of the information currently being posted is still in draft form. Our goal for the Web site is to provide you the opportunity to follow along with us as information is updated. The Web site also provides methods for you to offer suggestions throughout the development of the SEIS and will offer a convenient way for you to formally comment on the Draft SEIS after it is published.
 
The SEIS Web site is linked to the main Forest Service Alaska Region Web page at www.fs.fed.us/r10 and the main Tongass National Forest Web page at www.fs.fed.us/r10/tongass.
 
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WHAT'S NEXT
 
Over the next several weeks, we will complete the roadless inventory map and roadless area description updates as described previously. The alternatives will be analyzed in detail and the results will be documented in the Draft SEIS. We expect to complete the Draft SEIS and make it available to the public in February/March. After the Draft SEIS is issued, we expect to allow a 90-day public comment period, during which you will be able to make formal comments. Public meetings during this public comment period are also planned.
 
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HOW YOU CAN RESPOND
 
If you would like to offer suggestions on the work being done to date, you may write directly to the address included in this project update, or you can take advantage of the response opportunities included on the Web site, where much of the work is being displayed.
 
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