Tongass National Forest; Alaska; Shoreline II Outfitter/Guide Environmental Impact Statement, 36501-36502 [2015-15484]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
• Forest Service

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 122 (Thursday, June 25, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36501-36502]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-15484]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Tongass National Forest; Alaska; Shoreline II Outfitter/Guide 
Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Corrected Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental impact 
statement.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: A Notice of Intent (NOI) was first published for this proposal 
in the Federal Register (79 FR 81210) on June 16, 2014. This NOI is 
being published due to the length of time that has passed since the 
first NOI was published, due to changes made to the Purpose and Need 
and Proposed Action in response to public input received during the 
initial scoping period, and a new Decision Maker for the DEIS and FEIS.

DATES: Comments received during the initial scoping period in 2014 will 
be considered in the preparation of this EIS. New or additional 
comments must be received by 45 days from date of publication of this 
Corrected NOI in the Federal Register. The draft environmental impact 
statement is expected in November 2015, and the final environmental 
impact statement is expected in March 2016.

ADDRESSES: Comments can be submitted via the project Web site at https://go.usa.gov/Pzi. Click on the link ``Commment on Project'' to submit 
comments and attach documents. Comments may also be sent via email to 
comments-alaska-tongass-sitka@fs.fed.us or sent via fax to 907-772-
5996. Send written comments to Carey Case, Shoreline II Project Leader, 
Petersburg Ranger District, 12 North Nordic Drive, Petersburg, AK 
99833.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carey Case, Shoreline II Team Leader 
by phone, 907-772-5906, email, ccase@fs.fed.us or by mail at 12 North 
Nordic Drive, Petersburg, AK 99833. Additional information about the 
project and project area is available on the Internet at https://go.usa.gov/Pzi Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the 
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-
800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through 
Friday.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Purpose and Need for Action

    The purpose of this action is to manage outfitters and guides on 
the Tongass National Forest marine shoreline zone consistent with the 
2008 Tongass Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan). A 
decision is needed to determine new outfitter and guide use allocations 
for the project area. This is necessary to balance commercial and non-
commercial recreational opportunities and to provide and maintain high 
quality recreation experiences without degrading forest resources.
    This action is needed to meet Forest Plan goals and objectives for 
recreation, tourism, and to support local and regional economies. In 
addition, the 2004 Shoreline ROD required a review after 5 years to 
determine whether to continue implementing the decision, or to 
supplement it. A 5-year review was never conducted; this environmental 
analysis is intended to fulfill the role of that review. This 
environmental analysis will replace the Shoreline ROD with a new 
Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision.
    Since the Shoreline ROD was completed in 2004, demand for non-
motorized recreation commercial services that originate in the marine 
shoreline zone has increased. The need for recreation commercial 
services has expanded both in terms of number of visitors, and the 
types of services being offered. There has been an increase in the 
fleet of small to mid-size cruise ships desiring to guide on the 
Tongass, and the demand for guided big game hunting continues to grow. 
Also, the traditionally low-use seasons (April-May; September-October) 
are seeing increased use, with additional interest for commercial use 
in the winter use season (January-March). Six of the use areas defined 
in the 2004 Shoreline decision are at 80 percent or more of their 
allocation during one or more seasons, and operators are dispersing to 
areas traditionally less used. At some locations, outfitters and guides 
have requested to operate beyond the \1/2\-mile zone. There is a need 
to revisit the decision to better align with current market demand for 
non-motorized commercial recreation services.
    Also, in 2008, the Forest Service updated the national directives 
for outfitting and guiding. These updates simplified procedures and 
clarified policies for priority use permits governing performance, 
inspections, and allocation of use. Additionally, data gathered 
recently through monitoring and reported use by guides shows that some 
information used in the 2001 Visitor Capacity Analysis required 
updating based on information gathered through Forest Service 
monitoring and reported use by guides.

Proposed Action

    The Forest Service is proposing to allocate a portion of the 
overall visitor capacity to outfitter and guide use. The 2014 Shoreline 
II Project Visitor Capacity Analysis (located at https://go.usa.gov/Pzi) 
establishes the total visitor capacity for the project area. Visitor 
capacity and the proposed allocations are described in terms of service 
days. A service day is defined as a day, or any part of a day, for 
which an outfitter or guide provides service to a client on National 
Forest System (NFS) lands. Service days were calculated and allocated 
to 48 geographic units defined as Use Areas.
    The Forest Service proposes to allocate up to 80,463 service days 
of the total visitor capacity of 636,448 service days within the 
project area to outfitter and guide use. These allocations are proposed 
by season and Use Area. The Forest Service proposes to allocate guided 
brown bear hunts in the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) Unit 
4 Game Management Unit based on the recommended number of hunts in the 
Alaska Board of Game Brown Bear Management Strategy (BBMS, 2000). The 
number of hunts will be allocated by ADF&G Guide Use Area to the spring 
and fall seasons proportionally based on

[[Page 36502]]

the 5-year average from actual use reports (2008-2012). For example, 
the BBMS recommends ten hunts in the 04-01 ADF&G Guide Use Area (which 
contains 04-01A, B, and C Shoreline II Use Areas). Based on the 5-year 
average, 66 percent of the hunts have occurred in the spring season and 
34 percent have occurred in the fall season. We propose to allocate 
seven of the ten hunts (66 percent) to the spring season and three 
hunts (34 percent) to the fall season. Since Shoreline II Use Areas are 
smaller subunits of the ADF&G Guide Use Areas, the location of the 
hunts could occur across multiple Shoreline II Use Areas. The service 
days used for each hunt would be part of the total outfitter/guide 
allocation proposed for the Use Area and season.
    We propose that no more than 50 percent of the total outfitter/
guide allocation for a Use Area, by season, would be allowed at a large 
group area (LGA), with exceptions in Use Areas with hardened LGA sites. 
At hardened LGA sites the authorized officer would have the ability to 
authorize more than 50 percent of that season's Use Area allocation 
(not to exceed the total commercial allocation for the season). For 
example, George Island LGA in Use Area 04-16E is a hardened site that 
can accommodate more than the 2,356 service days available (50 percent 
of the proposed summer allocation) for LGA use in the summer. The 
authorized officer could raise the allowed use at this LGA above 2,356 
service days.
    The project area overlaps with six congressionally designated 
wilderness areas. The Wilderness Act of 1964 prohibits commercial 
services, except for those that may be necessary to meet the 
recreational or other purposes of the area. The need for commercial 
services in wilderness has been documented in Wilderness Commercial 
Needs Assessments, which are available at https://go.usa.gov/Pzi. Twenty 
Use Areas are within designated wilderness. In addition to the proposed 
outfitter and guide use allocations, the Forest Service will seek to 
expand voluntary wilderness best management practices agreements with 
recreation service providers where appropriate.
    The Proposed Action would allocate a total of 80,463 service days 
across the four districts for use by outfitters and guides. The use 
will be authorized by special use permits to outfitters and guides, and 
may be temporary in nature (less than 1 year) or for multiple years. 
For outfitters and guides who have demonstrated satisfactory 
performance, the authorized officer may issue priority use permits, for 
up to 10 years, in accordance with Forest Service Handbook 2709.14. The 
Proposed Action does not limit non-commercial use by the public.

Possible Alternatives

    A no-action alternative will be considered. This alternative will 
be a continuation of outfitting and guiding resembling the current 
management and reflect the decision in the 2004 Shoreline Outfitter/
Guide Record of Decision. Also, three additional alternatives are being 
considered: the proposed action, a lower allocation alternative, and a 
higher allocation alternative. The lower allocation alternative 
reflects both views of the public identified during scoping and 
requirements under the Wilderness Act of 1964 and the Tongass Land 
Management Plan to provide outstanding opportunities for solitude in 
wilderness. The higher allocation alternative reflects the views of 
companies and individuals identified during scoping, as well as a 
growing tourism industry in Southeast Alaska, and an analysis done by 
the Tongass National Forest's regional economist.
    Adaptive management would be common to all action alternatives. 
Adaptive management is a process of monitoring results and adjusting 
the chosen action to meet desired outcomes; this provides the Decision 
Maker the flexibility to adjust use allocations over the life of the 
project if specific criteria are met.

Responsible Official

    The Forest Supervisor of the Tongass National Forest is the 
responsible official for this decision.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    The decision based on this EIS will allocate a portion of the total 
visitor capacity to outfitter and guide use in the marine shoreline 
zone. The decision, which will be documented in a Record of Decision, 
will:
    1. specify the amount of the carrying capacity in service days that 
are allocated to commercial recreation use for each Use Area in each 
season,
    2. specify the types of commercial recreation activities permitted,
    3. determine what, if any, management strategies to implement for 
brown bear, wilderness, and large group use areas and other issues 
identified through the analysis,
    4. specify any mitigation measures for commercial recreation 
activities to reduce user conflicts and resource impacts, and establish 
monitoring requirements.

Permits or Licenses Required

    Some outfitter and guide activities authorized by this decision may 
require outfitters and guides to obtain permits from other Federal and 
State agencies.

Scoping Process

    This proposal has been listed on the Tongass National Forest 
Schedule of Proposed Actions since April 2012.The initial scoping 
period started when the NOI was published June 16, 2014. Comments 
submitted previously will be considered in the analysis. A public 
scoping meeting was held in Sitka, Alaska, on July 8th, and in Angoon, 
Alaska, July 9th, 2014, and a scoping package was mailed to the public 
on June 13, 2014. There is an opportunity to submit new or additional 
comments for 45 days after publication of this Corrected NOI.
    This project is subject to the Predecisional Administrative Review 
Process (Objection Process) pursuant to 36 CFR 218, subparts A and B. 
The ``objection process'' allows parties who have submitted timely, 
specific written comments during Forest Service-announced public 
comment periods, such as this scoping period or when the Draft EIS goes 
out for public comment, to object to the decision being drafted. No 
public meetings are to be held with the release of this NOI. It is 
important that reviewers provide their comments at such times and in 
such manner that they are useful to the agency's preparation of the 
environmental impact statement. Therefore, comments should be provided 
prior to the close of the comment period and should clearly articulate 
the reviewer's concerns and contentions. Comments received in response 
to this solicitation, including names and addresses of those who 
comment, will be part of the public record. Comments submitted 
anonymously will also be accepted and considered.
    Maps and detailed information on the project are available on the 
Shoreline II Outfitter/Guide Web page located at: (https://goo.gl/tTfXZ5).

M. Earl Stewart,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 2015-15484 Filed 6-24-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-11-P