[PCA] USDA SEEKS PUBLIC INPUT: Alternatives to a Proposed Alaska Roadless Rule (written comments by Dec. 16, 2019)

[De Angelis, Patricia]

UPDATE: This proposed rule is now published and comments must be received
in writing by December 16, 2019 (
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/10/17/2019-22638/special-areas-roadless-area-conservation-national-forest-system-lands-in-alaska
).

To view the information below as a html webpage, see:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/roadmain/roadless/alaskaroadlessrule

USDA Office of Communications, Oct. 15, 2019: Development of a proposed
state-specific rule is in response to a petition from the State of Alaska

JUNEAU, ALASKA, Oct. 15, 2019 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture is
seeking public comment on a draft environmental impact statement offering a
range of alternatives to roadless management and a proposed Alaska Roadless
Rule. If adopted, the proposed rule would exempt the Tongass National
Forest from the 2001 Roadless Rule.

The USDA Forest Service will publish the documents in the Federal Register
this week. The publication will begin a 60-day public comment period on the
proposed rule, and on each alternative outlined in the draft environmental
impact statement.

The draft environmental impact statement, prepared under the National
Environmental Policy Act, provides an analysis of six alternatives, which
are options, choices, or courses of action related to roadless management
in Alaska. The alternatives range from no action to the removal of the
Tongass from the 2001 Roadless Rule. The Department has identified
Alternative 6, which is a full exemption, as the preferred alternative at
this time. The full range of options are:

Alternative 1 takes no action and would leave all of Alaska under the 2001
Roadless Rule, including the Tongass National Forest.
Alternative 2 provides regulatory protection for the majority (89%) of key
watersheds inside roadless areas and would convert 18,000 old-growth acres
and 10,000 young-growth acres previously identified as unsuitable timber
lands to suitable timber lands.
Alternative 3 provides regulatory protections for all key watersheds inside
and outside roadless areas, creates a community priority roadless
designation that allows for recreational development and timber sales under
1 million board feet, and would convert 76,000 old-growth acres and 14,000
young-growth acres previously identified as unsuitable timber lands to
suitable timber lands.
Alternative 4 restricts harvest and road-building activities in scenic
viewsheds and most (88%) key watersheds inside roadless areas and would
convert 158,000 old-growth acres and 15,000 young-growth acres previously
identified as unsuitable timber lands to suitable timber lands.
Alternative 5 would remove 2.3 million acres from roadless area
designation, protects some (59%) key watersheds, and would convert 165,000
old-growth acres and 17,000 young-growth acres previously identified as
unsuitable timber lands to suitable timber lands.
Alternative 6 (preferred) would exempt the Tongass National Forest from the
2001 Roadless Rule and is fully responsive to the State of Alaska’s
petition. The alternative would remove all 9.2 million acres of inventoried
roadless acres and would convert 165,000 old-growth acres and 20,000
young-growth acres previously identified as unsuitable timber lands to
suitable timber lands. Conservation of roadless values would be achieved
through other means, including the Tongass Land Management Plan. This is
specific to the Tongass National Forest. The Chugach National Forest would
remain under the 2001 Roadless Rule.

The Forest Service is scheduling a series of public meetings and
subsistence hearings. A list of those meeting locations will be available
on the Alaska Roadless Rule project website.

The public has until midnight Alaska time on Dec. 17, 2019, to submit
comments on the documents. The documents are posted in the Federal Register
and on the agency’s Alaska Roadless Rule website (
https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=54511).

These are the ways the public can submit written comments once the notice
is published:

Web: www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=54511
Email: akroadlessrule at fs.fed.us
Mail: USDA Forest Service, Attn: Alaska Roadless Rule, P.O. Box 21628,
Juneau, Alaska, 99802
Fax: 907-586-7852
In-person delivery to Forest Service, 709 W. 9th Street, Room 535B, Juneau,
Alaska 99801

Written comments will help inform USDA as it moves toward a final decision
about an Alaska-specific roadless rule. The Secretary of Agriculture is
expected to make a final decision by June 2020.

The Tongass stretches over the 500-mile-long Southeast Alaska Panhandle and
covers 80 percent of the land. It is rich in natural resources and cultural
heritage. Developed areas cover about 8 percent of the land. There are 32
communities, including the state capitol of Juneau, in Southeast Alaska.

News media inquiries should be made to the Forest Service Press Desk at
pressoffice at fs.fed.us or call 202-205-1134.
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