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Historic, Archive Document Do not assume content reflects current scientific knowledge, policies, or practices. fD// ( S) Q_ 1 C>- USDA Woodpecker United States Project Area Department of Agriculture Forest Service Tongass Final Environmental Impact National Forest RlO-MB-433a Statement August 2001 Summary and f-O Record of Decision CC33 OmO "O CO :m O' 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 (907) 225-3101 FAX: (907)225-6215 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 (907) 772-3871. 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