Table Of Content

Historic, Archive Document Do not assume content reflects current scientific knowledge, policies, or practices. ~ : Draft Environmental Impact Statement '.A Acronymns And Symbols ADF&G Alaska DepartmentofFish and Game AHMU Aquatic HabitatManagementUnit ANCSA AlaskaNative Claims SettlementAct ANILCA AlaskaNational InterestLands ConservationAct ASQ .Allowable Sale Quantity BBF One Billion BoardFeet BMP Best ManagementPractice CEQ Council on Environmental Quality CFL Commercial Forest Land CFR Code ofFederal Regulations CZMA Coastal Zone ManagementActof1976 DBH Diameterat Breast Height DEIS DraftEnvironmental Impact Statement EIS Environmental Impact Statement EPA Environmental ProtectionAgency EVC Existing/ExpectedVisual Condition FEIS Final Environmental ImpactStatement FSH ForestService Handbook FSM ForestService Manual GIS Geographic Information System IDT InterdisciplinaryTeam KPC Ketchikan Pulp Company KV Knutsen-VandenbergAct LTF LogTransferFacility LUD LandUse Designation LWD LargeWoody Debris (sameas LOD) MBF One Thousand BoardFeet MELP Multi-Entry Layout Process MIS Management Indicator Species MM MaximumModification MMBF OneMillion Board Feet NEPA National Environmental PolicyAct NFMA National Forest ManagementAct NMFS National MarineFisheries Service NOI Notice ofIntent P Primitive PR Partial Retention R Retention RM RoadedModified RN RoadedNatural ROD RecordofDecision ROS Recreation OpportunitySpectrum SHPO State Historic PreservationOfficer SPM Semi-PrimitiveMotorized SPNM Semi-PrimitiveNonmotorized TLMP TongassLandManagement Plan TRUCS Tongass Resource UseCooperative Survey TTRA Tongass TimberReformAct USDA United States DepartmentofAgriculture USDI United States Department ofthe Interior USFWS United States Fish andWildlife Service VCU Value ComparisonUnit VQO Visual Quality Objective WAA Wildlife Analysis Area Acknowledgments Frontcover: ByCindyRossBarber, 1992. Thedesignillustratestherangeofinterconnectedissuesaddressedinthe EIS. Draft Environmental Impact Statement Chassna Timber Sale United States Department of Agriculture Forest Servsce-Alaska Region Alaska Lead Agency: U.S.D.A. Forest Service Tongass National Forest Ketchikan Administrative Area Responsible Official: Forest Supervisor Ketchikan Administrative Area Tongass National Forest Federal Building Ketchikan, Alaska 99901 For Further Information Contact: Norm Matson, Planning Biologist Ketchikan Administrative Area Tongass National Forest Federal Building Ketchikan, Alaska 99901 907 228-6273 Abstract The USDA Forest Service proposesto harvest approximately 50 million board feet (MMBF) oftimber in the Chasina Project Area, Craig Ranger District, Ketchikan Administrative Area, Tongass National Forest. Timber volume would be offered through the Ketchikan Areatimbersale program. The actions analyzed in this EIS are designed to implement direction contained in the Tongass Land Management Plan (TLMP, 1979a, as amended) and the Tongass Timber Reform Act. The EIS describes six alternatives which provide different combinations ofresource outputs and spatial locations ofharvest units. The alternatives include: 1) No Action, proposing no new harvest from the Project Areaat this time; 2) configure harvest units to emphasize wildlife habitat and maintain the integrity oflarge unfragmented blocks ofold-growth forest; 3) configure harvest units to emphasize a positive net economic return, while seeking to strike a balance between competing resource uses; 4) optimize the amount oftimberoffered while keeping the amount ofnew road construction to a minimum; 5) configure harvest units to emphasize timbersale economics and conventional cable yarding methods; and 6) configure harvest unitsto provide the maximum amount oftimberwithin Forest Plan Standards and Guidelines. Contents Table of Contents Volume I Chapter Purpose and Need 1-1 1 Introduction 1-2 Decision to be Made 1-2 Document Organization 1-2 Project Area 1-3 Proposed Action 1-6 Purpose andNeed 1-6 Reasons for Scheduling the Environmental Analysis ofthe Chasina Project Area 1-7 Existing and Desired Future Condition 1-8 The Decision Making Process 1-9 National Level 1-9 Regional Level 1-9 Forest Level 1-9 Project Level 1-9 TLMP, as Amended 1-10 TLMP Revision 1-11 Public Involvement 1-14 Scoping 1-14 Draft E1S 1-14 Final EIS 1-15 Issues 1-15 Issues Associated with the Proposed Action 1-15 Issue 1: TimberEconomics and Supply 1-15 Issue 2: Fish Habitat and WaterQuality 1-15 Issue 3: Recreation and Scenic Quality 1-15 Issue 4: Wildlife 1-15 Issue 5: Subsistence 1-16 Issue 6: Caves and Karst 1-16 Issue 7: Social and Economic Effects 1-16 Issue 8: Marine Environment 1-16 Issues Outside the Scope ofThis Analysis 1-16 Issue A: Land Use Designations/Forest Plan Revision 1-16 Issue B: Development Outside the Project Area 1 16 Issue C: Below Cost Timber Sales 1-17 Issue D: Timber Supply and Demand 1-17 Issue E: Manage Chasina for Sustained Yield 1-17 Federal and State Permits, Licenses, and Certifications 1-17 Legislation and Executive Orders Related to This EIS 1-18 Availability ofthe Planning Record 1-19 Chapter 2 Alternatives 2-1 Introduction 2-2 Changes Between NOI and DEIS 2-2 Alternative Development 2-2 Process Used to Formulate Alternatives 2-9 Alternatives Eliminated from Detailed Study 2-10 Alternative A Single Resource or Issue 2-10 Alternative B Avoid Previously Mapped Old-growth Retention Areas 2-10 1 Contents Alternative C Manage the Chasina Project Area for Sustained Yield/Even Flow ofForest Products 2-10 Alternative D 2-11 Alternatives Considered for Detailed Study 2-11 Alternative (No Action) 2-11 1 Alternative 2 2-11 Alternatives 2-12 Alternative 4 2-12 Alternatives 2-13 Alternative 6 2-13 Forest Service Preferred Alternative 2-14 Comparison ofAlternatives 2-14 Summary Comparison 2-14 Comparison ofAlternatives by Proposed Activity 2-17 Comparison ofAlternatives by Significant Issue 2-19 Issue 1. Timber Harvest Economics 2-20 Issue 2. Fish Habitat and Water Quality 2-21 Issue 3. Recreation and Scenic Quality 2-25 Issue 4. Wildlife Habitat 2-28 Issue 5. Subsistence Use 2-29 Issue 6. Caves and Karst 2-31 Issue 7. Social and Economic Effects 2-31 Issue 8: Marine Environment 2-33 Mitigation Measures 2-35 TLMP Mitigation 2-35 Water Quality and Fish Production 2-35 Wildlife 2-36 Cave/Karst Resources 2-39 Subsistence 2-39 Recreation 2-39 Cultural Resources 2-39 TES Plants 2-40 Monitoring 2-40 Forest Plan Monitoring 2-40 Mitigation/Monitoring Feedback Loop 2-42 Routine Implementation Monitoring 2-42 Effectiveness Monitoring 2-42 Validation Monitoring 2-43 Maps ofAlternatives Chapter 3 Affected Environment and Effects ofthe Alternatives 3-1 Introduction 3-1 Available Information 3-1 Analyzing Effects 3-1 Land Divisions 3-3 Geographic Information System 3-4 Description ofthe Ecosystem 3-4 AIR QUALITY 3-8 Affected Environment 3-8 Effects ofthe Alternatives 3-9 Direct, Indirect and Cumulative Effects 3-9 AQUATIC RESOURCES 3-11 Affected Environment 3-11 Introduction 3-11 2 Contents Fish Habitat 3-13 Legal Requirements and Riparian Habitat Protection 3-28 Estuaries and Beach Fringe 3-30 Consumptive Water Uses 3-31 Effects ofthe Alternatives 3-35 Fish Habitat Capability and Water Quality 3-35 Sedimentation 3-35 WaterTemperature Sensitivity 3-36 Cumulative Watershed Impacts 3-36 Mitigation 3-38 FLOODPLAINS 3-41 Affected Environment 3-41 Effects ofthe Alternatives 3-45 Direct and Indirect Effects 3-45 Cumulative Effects 3-46 Mitigation Measures 3-47 Monitoring 3-47 RIPARIAN MANAGEMENT AREAS 3-49 Affected Environment 3-49 Riparian Management Areas 3-49 Effects ofThe Alternatives 3-53 Direct and Indirect Effects 3-53 Cumulative Effects 3-53 Mitigation Measures 3-54 Monitoring 3-55 WETLANDS 3-57 Affected Environment 3-58 Introduction 3-58 Wetland Systems and Classes 3-59 Values and Functions 3-0 Effects ofthe Alternatives 3-62 Direct and Indirect Effects 3-62 Cumulative Effects 3-71 Mitigation Measures 3-75 Monitoring 3-75 SOILS 3-76 Affected Environment 3-77 Soil Productivity 3-77 Soil Types 3-78 Surface Erosion and Mass Movement 3-81 Effects ofthe Alternatives 3-82 Direct and Indirect Effects 3-83 Cumulative Effects 3-92 Mitigation Measures 3-98 Monitoring 3-99 GEOLOGY, MINERALS, AND KARST RESOURCES 3-100 Affected Environment 3-101 Introduction 3-101 Geologic Setting 3-101 Mineral Setting 3-101 Mining Claims 3-106 Karst Resources 3-107 Karst Management Goals 3-109 3 Contents Karst Management Strategy 3-109 Catchment Area Management 3-113 Chasina Project Area Karst Resources 3-113 Effects ofthe Alternatives 3-116 Minerals 3-116 Karst Resources 3-118 Mitigation 3-119 Monitoring 3-120 WILDLIFE 3-121 Affected Environment 3-121 Management Indicator Species (MIS) 3-121 Wildlife Analysis Areas (WAAs) 3-122 Major Habitat Categories 3-124 Wildlife Habitat Capability Models 3-126 Effects ofthe Alternatives 3-134 Direct and Indirect Effects 3-134 Snag Abundance Analysis 3-140 Cumulative Effects: Reasonably Foreseeable 3-143 OLD GROWTH AND BIODIVERSITY 3-148 Affected Environment 3-148 Old-Growth Forest 3-148 Biological Diversity and Viable Populations 3-152 Effects ofthe Alternatives 3-162 Fragmentation and Patch Size Effectiveness 3-163 Effect ofProposed Alternatives on Old-Growth Habitat in Chasina 3-164 Effects ofthe Alternatives on Connectivity and Corridors 3-173 Effects ofthe Alternatives on Viable Populations ofWildlife 3-173 Mapped Old-growth Habitat (Retention Areas) 3-173 Comparison ofAlternatives 3-174 THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES 3-175 Affected Environment 3-175 Threatened or Endangered Species 3-175 Species ofConcern and Sensitive Species 3-178 Effects ofthe Alternatives 3-188 Threatened or Endangered Wildlife Species 3-188 Species ofConcern 3-189 Sensitive Species 3-191 FOREST HEALTH 3-194 Affected Environment 3-194 Insects 3-194 Diseases 3-195 Other 3-196 Effects ofthe Alternatives 3-196 SILVICULTURE AND TIMBER 3-198 Affected Environment 3-200 Introduction 3-200 Forested Plant Communities 3-200 Non-Forested Plant Communities 3-203 Site Class 3-204 Silvicultural Systems 3-205 Ecosystem Management 3-211 Criteria forthe Selection ofHarvest Cutting Method 3-212 Introduction 3-212 4