Forest Service seeks comment on Alaska Roadless Rule
would convert 158,000 old-growth acres and 15,000 young-growth acres previously identified as unsuitable timber lands to suitable tim- ber lands. Alternative 5 would remove 2.3 million acres from roadless area designation, protects some (59%) key watersheds, and would con- vert 165,000 old-growth acres and 17,000 young-growth acres pre- viously 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 un- suitable timber lands to suitable timber lands. Conservation of road- less values would be achieved through other means, including the Tongass Land Management Plan. This is specific to the Tongass Na- tional Forest. The Chugach National Forest would remain under the 2001 Roadless Rule. The Forest Service is scheduling a series of public meetings and sub- sistence hearings. A list of those meeting locations will be available on the Alaska Roadless Rule project website. The public has until midnight Alaska time Dec. 17, 2019, to submit comments on the documents. The documents are posted in the Fed- eral Register and on the agency’s Alaska Roadless Rule website. 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@fs.fed.us Mail: USDA Forest Service, Attn: Alaska Roadless Rule, P.O. Box 21628, Juneau, Alaska, 99802
Alaska Miner Journal-horizontal half page.pdf 1 1/31/2019 10:02:49 AM Alternative 4 restricts harvest and road-building activities in scenic viewsheds and most (88%) key watersheds inside roadless areas and 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 identi- fied as unsuitable timber lands to suitable timber lands. 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 For- est 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 com- ment period on the proposed rule, and on each alternative outlined in the draft environmental impact statement. The draft environmental impact statement, prepared under the Na- tional Environmental Policy Act, provides an analysis of six alter- natives, which are options, choices, or courses of action related to roadless management in Alaska. The alternatives range from no ac- tion 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 identi- fied as unsuitable timber lands to suitable timber lands.
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November 2019 I The Alaska Miner I www.alaskaminers.org
www.alaskaminers.org I The Alaska Miner I November 2019
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