Table Of Content

Historic, Archive Document Do not assume content reflects current scientific knowledge, policies, or practices. £ SD/( ^oL3 • USDA United States Sea Department of Level Agriculture Forest Service Timber Sale Tongass National Forest RIO - MB-367b June 1998 Environmental Impact Draft Statement Volume II Acronymns And Symbols ADF&G Alaska Department ofFish and Game AHMU Aquatic Habitat Management Unit ANCSA Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act AN1LCA Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act ASQ Allowable Sale Quantity BBF One Billion Board Feet BMP Best Management Practice CEQ Council on Environmental Quality CFL Commercial Forest Land CFR Code ofFederal Regulations CZMA Coastal Zone Management Act of 1976 DBH Diameterat Breast Height EIS Environmental Impact Statement EPA Environmental Protection Agency EVC Existing/Expected Visual Condition FSH Forest Service Handbook FSM Forest Service Manual GIS Geographic Information System IDT Interdisciplinary Team KPC Ketchikan Pulp Company KV Knutsen-Vandenberg Act LSTA Logging System Transportation Analysis LTF LogTransfer Facility LUD Land Use Designation LWD Large Woody Debris MBF One Thousand Board Feet MIS Management Indicator Species MM Maximum Modification MMBF One Million Board Feet NEPA National Environmental Policy Act NFMA National Forest Management Act NMFS National Marine Fisheries Service NOI Notice ofIntent P Primitive PR Partial Retention R Retention RM Roaded Modified RN Roaded Natural ROD Record ofDecision ROS Recreation Opportunity Spectrum SHPO State Historic Preservation Officer SPM Semi-Primitive Motorized SPNM Semi-Primitive Nonmotorized TLMP Tongass Land Management Plan TRUCS Tongass Resource Use Cooperative Survey TTRA Tongass Timber Reform Act USDA United States Department ofAgriculture USDI United States Department ofthe Interior USFWS United States Fish and Wildlife Service VCU Value Comparison Unit VQO Visual Quality Objective WAA Wildlife Analysis Area Acknowledgments Fromcover: ByCindy Ross Barber, 1992. Thedesign illustratestherangeofinterconnected issuesaddressedin the EIS. Volume II Appendices A-H Appendices A Reasons for Scheduling the Environmental Analysis of the Sea Level Project Area B Subsistence Maps C Biological Assessment and Biological Evaluation D Watershed Report E Road Maintenance Levels Traffic Service Levels Road Management Objectives Road Condition Survey Data F Recommended Sale Area Improvement Projects G Wetland Values Matrix H Part 1 - Unit Cards Part 2 - Road Cards A Appendix Reasons for Scheduling the Environmental Analysis of Sea Area the Level Project Appendix Reasons Scheduling the for Environmental Analysis of the Sea Level Project Area Summary Reasons for scheduling the SeaLevel ProjectArea at this time maybe summarized as follows: 1. The Sea Level Project Area contains a sufficientnumberofacres allocated to development land use designations (LUDs) to make timberharvest in the area appropriate underthe 1997 Tongass Land Management Plan (TLMP). Available information indicates harvest ofthe amount oftimberbeing considered forthis project can occurconsistentwith 1997 TLMP standards and guidelines and other requirements forresourceprotection. 2. Areas with available timberwill be necessaryto consider forharvest in orderto meet TLMP timbersupply and employment opportunityobjectives, as well as the desired future conditions for land use allocations within theproject area. 3. Effects on subsistence resources are projected to differ little according to which sequence these areas are subjectedto harvest. Harvesting otherareas with available timberon the Tongass NationalForest is expectedto have similarpotential effects onresources, including those used forsubsistence, because ofwidespread distributionofsubsistenceuse and otherfactors. Harvestofthese otherareas is foreseeable, in anycase, overthe forestplanning horizon underthe 1997 TLMP. 4. Providing substantially less timbervolume than necessary to meet 1997 TLMP timbersupply and employment opportunityobjectives in orderto avoid harvest in the Sea Level ProjectArea is notnecessary orreasonable. 5. It is reasonableto schedule harvest in the SeaLevel Project Area ratherthan other areas in terms ofprevious harvest entry and access, level ofcontroversy over subsistence andothereffects, and the abilityto comply with the National Environmental Policy Act(NEPA) process andmake timberavailable in a timely mannerto meet market demand. Other areas that are reasonable to considerfor harvest in the near future arethe subject ofotherproject EISs that are currently ongoingor scheduled to begin soon. 6. An infrastructure (roads, bridges, rock pits, log transfer facilities, etc.) is in place and is in need ofmaintenance to reduce potential resource damage. Eleven blocked fish passages will be fixed, one bridge will be replaced and nineteen waterquality drainage structure failures will becorrected. — SeaLevel Draft E1S ReasonsforScheduling EnvironmentalAnalysisofthe Sea LevelArea Appendix A A-1 Appendix More detail regarding the schedulingofthe environmental analysis forthe Sea Level Project Area is presented in this appendix in three subsections: • Southeast Alaska Timber Demand • Tongass Land Management Plan • Forest Plan Implementation Southeast Alaska Timber Demand Introduction In general, this section indicates that areas with available timberwill be necessary to consider forharvest in orderto meet TLMP timbersupply and employment opportunity objectives. Meeting Market Timberdemand in Southeast Alaska can vary dramatically from year to year. The level of Demand demand is dependent on complex interactions among factors that are difficult, ifnot impossible, forthe industry orthe Forest Service to predict with accuracy. Such factors include fluctuations in interestrates, housing starts, business cycles in the United States and overseas, changes in the value ofthe dollarwith respect to foreign currencies, changes in import tariffs, and changes in export policies inothercountries. To be responsive to market demand, the Forest Service intent is to provide an opportunity for the industry as a whole to accumulate a supply ofpurchased, but unharvested timber(i.e. volume undercontract) equal to about three years oftimberconsumption. There are a number ofreasons forallowing the accumulation ofvolume undercontract. First, this allows the industry ample time to plan an orderlyand systematic harvest schedule that meets all timing restrictions and permit requirements. Second, it allows the industry to bettermanage its financial resources and to secure financing on the basis oflongerterm timbersupply. Third, it allowstime forthe necessary infrastructure (roads, log transfer facilities, and logging camps) to be put in place priorto timberharvest. Fourth, it allows the Forest Service to develop an orderly progression oftimbermanagement projects in various stages ofthe planningprocess. Finally, an ample timbersupply gives the industry more opportunity to sustain itselfthrough market cycles. Ifdemand forpulp or lumber in any yearsuddenly increases, producers will have access to enough timberto respond to the increase in demand without waiting forthe Forest Service orthe Congress to take action. Normally, the unharvested volume undercontract will be drawn down during high points in the marketwhen mills increase production, and built up when markets are poorand production declines. In responseto changes observed in the volume undercontract, the Forest Service may consider adjusting its budget and timberprogram. From the initiation ofatimbersale project, through EIS and decision document preparation, and to the sale oftimber from theproject, usually requires three to fouryears. Such lengthy preparation time means that in orderto have a stable timber supply and be able to respond to upswings in the market, there is a need to have ongoing timbermanagement projects in various stages ofthe planningprocess. It is also necessary to have a supplyofcompleted NEPA projects available forsale ifan increased market demand is to be met. The timber industry in southeast Alaska is now in a period oftransition. Following the closings ofthe Alaska Pulp Corporation (APC) pulp mill and the Ketchikan Pulp Corporation (KPC)pulp mill, new mills are eitherunderconstruction orare being proposed, and existing mills are being upgraded. There is currently ajointventure between KPC and Sealaska fora veneerplantat Ward Cove in Ketchikan. This mill would also use utility grade log for chips. The veneercould be sent to othermills formanufacture into plywood orlaminated veneer lumber, ora revamped facility at the formerKPC pulp mill sitecould manufacture the veneer into secondary products. The plant could be on line as soon as the spring of 1999 with — A-2 Appendix A ReasonsforScheduling EnvironmentalAnalysisofthe Sea LevelArea Sea Level Draft EIS