Woodpecker project area : final environmental impact statement : summary and record of decision

250 Pages·2001·15.2 MB·English

by  United States. Forest Service. Alaska Region

Historic, Archive Document
Do not assume content reflects current
scientific knowledge, policies, or practices.

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USDA Woodpecker
United States Project Area
Department of
Agriculture
Forest Service
Tongass
Final Environmental Impact
National
Forest
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August 2001
Summary
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Record of Decision CC33
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Abbreviations and Common Acronyms
ANILCA AlaskaNational Interest Lands Conservation Act
ASQ Allowable Sale Quantity
BMPs Best ManagementPractices
CCF HundredCubicFeet
CEQ CouncilonEnvironmentalQuality
DEIS DraftEnvironmentalImpact Statement
FEIS FinalEnvironmental Impact Statement
Forest Plan TongassLandandResourceManagementPlan, 1997
GIS Geographic Information System
IDT InterdisciplinaryTeam
IRA InventoriedRoadless Area
LTF Log TransferFacility
LUD Land UseDesignation
MBF
ThousandBoardFeet
MIS ManagementIndicator Species
MMBF
Million BoardFeet
MMCF
Million CubicFeet
NEPA NationalEnvironmentalPolicyAct
NFMA
NationalForest Management Act
NIC Non-interchangeable Component
OGR
Old-Growth Habitat Reserve
RMO
RoadManagementObjective
ROD
RecordofDecision
ROS Recreation OpportunitySpectrum
TTRA TongassTimberReformAct
VCU
Value Comparison Unit
VQO
VisualQualityObjective
WAA
WildlifeAnalysis Area
United States Forest Alaska Region 648Mission Street
Department of Service TongassNational Forest Ketchikan, Alaska 99901
Agriculture [phone]
FAX: [phone]
File Code: 1950
Date: August 15, 2001
Dear Reader:
Here is your copy ofthe Record ofDecision(ROD) andtheFinal Environmental Impact
Statement (FEIS) forthe WoodpeckerProject Area onthe Petersburg Ranger District,
Tongass National Forest.
Additional copies ofthis Final EIS are availableforreview at Forest Service Offices
throughouttheTongass. Ifyou wouldliketo request additional copies to be sentto you,
contactthe Petersburg Ranger District at907-772-3871.
The ROD documents my final decisiononthe Selected Alternative, andthefacts considered
inreaching the decision. Theeffective dateofimplementationforthedecision and the
NoticeofRights ofAppeal are also specifiedinthe ROD.
I wantto thankthose ofyou who tookthetimeto review and comment onthe Draft
Environmental Impact Statement. Your interestinthemanagementofthe Tongass National
Forestis appreciated.
As theForest Supervisor, I am responsible forthis decision. Pleasedirect any
correspondenceorrequests for additional copies to Cynthia Sever, WoodpeckerProjectTeam
Leader, P.O. Box 1328, Petersburg, Alaska 99833, orto the e-mail address:
[email protected]; orcall [phone].
Sincerely,
Forest Supervisor
Caring fortheLand and ServingPeople PrintedonRecycledPaper

Summary

Summary
Introduction
The Forest Service has prepared this environmental impact statement
(EIS) to analyze the potential effects oftimber harvest, recreation
projects, and watershed improvements in the Woodpecker Project Area
in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and
other relevant federal and state laws and regulations.
Changes Between the Draft and Final Environmental
Impact Statements
The decision from AFAv. USDA, the U.S. District Court, District of
Alaska, which vacated the 1999 Forest Plan Record ofDecision and
upheld the 1997 Record ofDecision, were incorporated. This resulted in
minor changes in documentation but no changes in the analyzed effects.
New information about the Roadless Area Conservation Rule and the
Forest Service Transportation; Final Administrative Policy (Roads Rule)
was incorporated.
Anew alternative (Alternative 6) was developed by modifying the
Preferred Alternative in the Draft EIS (Alternative 2) to respond to
concerns expressed in public comments on the Draft EIS. See Chapter 2.
Information was added to the Unit Card Narratives in response to requests
in comments on the DEIS. Road Management Objectives were changed
to include new information. See Appendix B.
Updates concerning information on the State ofAlaska proposals
(Southeast Alaska Transportation Plan and the Central/Southem
Southeast Area Plan) were made.
Any new field information was incorporated and requests for information
received from comments to the Draft EIS were incorporated when
appropriate.
The District Ranger, Petersburg Ranger District, has made a separate
project decision to approve the watershed improvement projects, which
includes the revegetation projects and the reconstruction ofstream
crossing structures to improve fish passage so that implementation could
begin during the 2001 field season.
Woodpecker ProjectAreaFEIS Summary 1
Summary
Location
The Woodpecker Project Area is located on the southwest part of Mitkof
Island, approximately 27 miles south ofPetersburg, Alaska. Petersburg is
located approximately 120 miles south ofJuneau and 110 miles north of
Ketchikan. The project area is approximately 33,000 acres in size.
Proposed Action
The Proposed Action (Alternative 2) for this environmental analysis
includes timber harvest, the development ofdispersed recreation
opportunities, and watershed improvement projects. The proposed
timber harvest will provide for multiple timber sale opportunities for
approximately 12 million board feet (mmbf) oftimber. Recreation
opportunity enhancements include developing dispersed sites for
camping and picnicking, improving access to recreation use areas, and
improving turnouts for parking. Watershed improvement projects
include revegetating exposed roadside slopes and restoring fish passage
where stream crossing structures have the potential to restrict fish
passage. Road use within the Woodpecker ProjectArea is examined, and
objectives for road management are proposed. As part ofthe analysis for
this proposed action, the small old-growth habitat reserves within the
Woodpecker Project Area are analyzed to see ifany boundary changes
should be made as a non-significant amendment to the Forest Plan.
Decision to be Made
Based on the environmental analysis in this EIS, the Forest Supervisor
will decide whether and how to implement activities within the
Woodpecker Project Area in accordance with Forest Plan goals,
objectives and desired future conditions. This decision may include the
following:
• the location and method oftimber harvest, road construction and
reconstruction, log-transfer facilities, and silvicultural practices,
• road management objectives,
• recreation projects,
• watershed improvement projects (see below),
• mitigation measures and monitoring requirements,
• whether there may be a significant restriction on subsistence uses,
and
• whether any changes in small old-growth habitat reserves should be
made, and approved as a non-significant amendment to the Forest
Plan.
2 Summary Woodpecker ProjectAreaFEIS