Tongass National Forest; Alaska; Shoreline II Outfitter/Guide Environmental Impact Statement, 34275-34277 [2014-13991]

Download as PDF emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 115 / Monday, June 16, 2014 / Notices (b) Developed Outdoor Recreation, Off-Highway Vehicle Users, or Commercial Recreation Activities; (c) Energy and Mineral Development, or Commercial or Recreational Fishing Groups; (d) Commercial Timber Industry; or (e) Federal Grazing Permit or Other Land Use Permit Holders, or Representative of Non-Industrial Private Forest Land Owners, within the area for which the committee is organized. (2) Five persons who represent: (a) Nationally or Regionally Recognized Environmental Organizations; (b) Regionally or Locally Recognized Environmental Organizations; (c) Dispersed Recreational Activities; (d) Archaeology and History; or (e) Nationally or Regionally Recognized Wild Horse and Burro Interest, Wildlife Hunting Organizations, or Watershed Associations. (3) Five persons who represent: (a) Hold State-Elected Office; (b) Hold County or Local-Elected Office; (c) American Indian Tribes within or adjacent to the area for which the committee is organized; (d) Area School Officials or Teachers; or (e) Affected Public-At-Large. No individual who is currently registered as a Federal lobbyist is eligible to serve as a member of the RAC. Members of the RAC serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for travel expenses while performing duties on behalf of the RAC, subject to approval by the Designated Federal Official (DFO). The RAC members serve 4-year terms and shall reside within the State(s) in which the committee is organized. To the extent practical, the membership of each of the three categories will include residents in the vicinity of the national forest for which the committee provides advice. The Secretary may appoint replacements for each of the three membership categories who may serve on the committee in the event a vacancy arises. If an appropriate replacement is unavailable, nominees will be sought through an open and public process and submitted to the Secretary for vetting, approval, and appointment. Equal opportunity practices in accordance with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) policies shall be followed in all appointments to the RACs. To ensure that the recommendations of the RACs have been taken into account, the needs of the diverse groups served by the Departments, membership should VerDate Mar<15>2010 16:36 Jun 13, 2014 Jkt 232001 include, to the extent practicable, individuals with demonstrated ability to represent all racial and ethnic groups, women and men, and persons with disabilities. Dated: June 10 2014. Malcom A. Shorter, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Administration. [FR Doc. 2014–14046 Filed 6–13–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3411–15–P DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Forest Service Tongass National Forest; Alaska; Shoreline II Outfitter/Guide Environmental Impact Statement Forest Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement. AGENCY: The Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to allocate a portion of the overall visitor capacity to outfitter and guide (O/G) use within four ranger districts of the Tongass National Forest. The project will consider marine shoreline-based commercial non-motorized recreation use on Admiralty Island National Monument and Juneau, Hoonah and Sitka Ranger Districts. The Shoreline II project area includes all areas used by non-motorized outfitter and guide activities that originate from the marine shoreline areas. The project area generally extends 1⁄2 mile inland. The project area extends further inland where specific outfitter and guide activities and locations are accessed from the shoreline (i.e., goat/deer hunting, canoe route/portage, freshwater fishing on anadromous and other fishbearing streams and lakes). The Record of Decision will disclose how the Forest Service decides to allocate (or distribute) shoreline-based recreation capacity for O/G uses. This decision will replace the 2004 Shoreline Outfitter/Guide Record of Decision. DATES: Comments concerning the project must be received by July 31, 2014. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement is expected to be released in spring 2015 and the Final Environmental Impact Statement is expected to be released in winter 2016. ADDRESSES: Comments can be submitted via the project Web site at https:// go.usa.gov/Pzi. Click on the link ‘‘Comment on Project’’ to submit comments and attach documents. Comments may also be sent via email to comments-alaska-tongass-sitka@ SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 34275 fs.fed.us or sent via fax to 907–747– 4253. Send written comments to Jay Kinsman, Shoreline II Team Leader, Sitka Ranger District, 204 Siginaka Way, Sitka, AK 99835. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jay Kinsman, Shoreline II Team Leader by phone: 907–747–4228 or email: jkinsman@fs.fed.us. 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 noncommercial 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 nonmotorized 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). Fourteen of the use areas defined in the 2004 Shoreline E:\FR\FM\16JNN1.SGM 16JNN1 34276 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 115 / Monday, June 16, 2014 / Notices emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES 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 79,901 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 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 VerDate Mar<15>2010 16:36 Jun 13, 2014 Jkt 232001 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 79,901 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 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Decision. At this time, no other alternatives are being considered because no preliminary issues have been identified that would require developing another alternative. 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 notice of intent initiates the scoping process, which guides the development of the Environmental Impact Statement. Since February 2012, the four districts have been gathering information and comments on recreation use and outfitter and guide use of the Shoreline II area. Newsletters about the project were mailed to interested individuals, and a Web site, https://go.usa.gov/Pzi, was established to provide information. Input to help develop the Proposed Action was sought through public meetings and a hard copy and online comment form. In June 2014, the four ranger districts plan to send out a scoping letter seeking information and comments from Federal, State, and local agencies, tribal organizations, individuals, businesses, and organizations that may be interested in, or affected by, the Proposed Action. Comments received as a result of this scoping will be included in the analysis and will be analyzed to identify issues to be considered in the Draft EIS. Public information meetings will be held this E:\FR\FM\16JNN1.SGM 16JNN1 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 115 / Monday, June 16, 2014 / Notices summer at the following locations: July 8 from 5–8 p.m. at Harrigan Centennial Hall in the Exhibits Room in Sitka, Alaska; and June 24 from 5–7 p.m. at the Admiralty National Monument and Juneau Ranger District office located at 8510 Mendenhall Loop Road, Juneau, Alaska. Dates for the meeting at the Hoonah Ranger District office at 430 Airport Way, Hoonah, Alaska will be announced in a public service announcement. If you are unable to attend one of the above public meetings, webinars will also be held this summer. You can contact us via email for directions and links. The Web site will provide electronic methods for providing comments through direct online entry. The Web site is the preferred method for receiving comments. 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 for this Proposed Action. Comments submitted anonymously will be accepted and considered. Dated: June 6, 2014. Forrest Cole, Forest Supervisor. [FR Doc. 2014–13991 Filed 6–13–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410–11–P DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Forest Service Shoshone Resource Advisory Committee Forest Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice of meeting. AGENCY: The Shoshone Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) will meet in Greybull, Wyoming. The committee is authorized under the Secure Rural Schools and Community SelfDetermination Act (Pub. L. 110–343) (the Act) and operates in compliance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The purpose of the committee is to improve collaborative relationships and to provide advice and recommendations to the Forest Service concerning projects and funding consistent with Title II of the Act. The meeting is open to the public. The purpose of the meeting is to emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Mar<15>2010 16:36 Jun 13, 2014 Jkt 232001 vote on projects proposed for the Big Horn RAC Title II funds. DATES: The meeting will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on July 24, 2014. All RAC meetings are subject to cancellation. For status of meeting prior to attendance, please contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Big Horn County Weed and Pest Building, Meeting Room, 4782 Highway 310, Greybull, Wyoming. Those who wish to join the meeting via teleconference may do so by contacting the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Written comments may be submitted as described under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. All comments, including names and addresses when provided, are placed in the record and are available for public inspection and copying. The public may inspect comments received at the Shoshone National Forest Supervisor’s Office. Please call ahead to facilitate entry into the building. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Schacht, District Ranger, by phone at 307–335–2171 or via email at sschacht@fs.fed.us. Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Additional RAC information, including the meeting agenda and the meeting summary/minutes can be found at the following Web site: https:// fsplaces.fs.fed.us/fsfiles/unit/wo/ secure_rural_schools.nsf. The agenda will include time for people to make oral statements of three minutes or less. Individuals wishing to make an oral statement should request in writing by July 10, 2014, to be scheduled on the agenda. Anyone who would like to bring related matters to the attention of the committee may file written statements with the committee staff before or after the meeting. Written comments and requests for time for oral comments must be sent to Steve Schacht, District Ranger, 333 East Main Street, Lander, Wyoming 82520; by email to sschacht@fs.fed.us or via facsimile to 307–332–0264. Meeting Accommodations: If you are a person requiring reasonable accommodation, please make requests in advance for sign language interpreting, assistive listening devices PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 34277 or other reasonable accommodation for access to the facility or proceedings by contacting the person listed in the section titled FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. All reasonable accommodation requests are managed on a case by case basis. Dated: June 5, 2014. Joseph G. Alexander, Forest Supervisor. [FR Doc. 2014–13976 Filed 6–13–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3411–15–P DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration Amended Designation for Gulf Country Inspection and Weighing Service, Inc. Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration, USDA. ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: GIPSA is announcing the designation of Gulf Country Inspection and Weighing Service, Inc. (Gulf Country) to provide official services under the United States Grain Standards Act (USGSA), as amended. Gulf Country’s geographical area is amended to include the unassigned area of Southeast Texas announced in the Federal Register on March 19, 2014. In addition, GIPSA is announcing the designation of Gulf Country to provide Class X or Class Y weighing services under the United States Grain Standards Act (USGSA), as amended. DATES: Effective Date: July 1, 2014. ADDRESSES: Eric J. Jabs, Chief, USDA, GIPSA, FGIS, QACD, QADB, 10383 North Ambassador Drive, Kansas City, MO 64153. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric J. Jabs, 816–659–8408 or Eric.J.Jabs@ usda.gov. Read Applications: All applications and comments will be available for public inspection at the office above during regular business hours (7 CFR 1.27(c)). SUMMARY: In the March 19, 2014 Federal Register Notice (79 FR 15307), GIPSA requested applications for designation to provide official services in unassigned areas of Southeast Texas. Applications were due by April 18, 2014. GIPSA received seven comments, representing six grain companies and one trade association in support of Gulf Country’s designation for the geographical area announced in the Federal Register. The commenters stated customer service, improved SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: E:\FR\FM\16JNN1.SGM 16JNN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 115 (Monday, June 16, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34275-34277]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-13991]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


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

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, will prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to allocate a portion of the 
overall visitor capacity to outfitter and guide (O/G) use within four 
ranger districts of the Tongass National Forest. The project will 
consider marine shoreline-based commercial non-motorized recreation use 
on Admiralty Island National Monument and Juneau, Hoonah and Sitka 
Ranger Districts. The Shoreline II project area includes all areas used 
by non-motorized outfitter and guide activities that originate from the 
marine shoreline areas. The project area generally extends \1/2\ mile 
inland. The project area extends further inland where specific 
outfitter and guide activities and locations are accessed from the 
shoreline (i.e., goat/deer hunting, canoe route/portage, freshwater 
fishing on anadromous and other fish-bearing streams and lakes). The 
Record of Decision will disclose how the Forest Service decides to 
allocate (or distribute) shoreline-based recreation capacity for O/G 
uses. This decision will replace the 2004 Shoreline Outfitter/Guide 
Record of Decision.

DATES: Comments concerning the project must be received by July 31, 
2014. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement is expected to be 
released in spring 2015 and the Final Environmental Impact Statement is 
expected to be released in winter 2016.

ADDRESSES: Comments can be submitted via the project Web site at https://go.usa.gov/Pzi. Click on the link ``Comment 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 907-747-
4253. Send written comments to Jay Kinsman, Shoreline II Team Leader, 
Sitka Ranger District, 204 Siginaka Way, Sitka, AK 99835.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jay Kinsman, Shoreline II Team Leader 
by phone: 907-747-4228 or email: jkinsman@fs.fed.us. 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). Fourteen of the use areas 
defined in the 2004 Shoreline

[[Page 34276]]

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 79,901 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 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 79,901 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. At this time, no other alternatives are being 
considered because no preliminary issues have been identified that 
would require developing another alternative.

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 notice of intent initiates the scoping process, which guides 
the development of the Environmental Impact Statement. Since February 
2012, the four districts have been gathering information and comments 
on recreation use and outfitter and guide use of the Shoreline II area. 
Newsletters about the project were mailed to interested individuals, 
and a Web site, https://go.usa.gov/Pzi, was established to provide 
information. Input to help develop the Proposed Action was sought 
through public meetings and a hard copy and online comment form.
    In June 2014, the four ranger districts plan to send out a scoping 
letter seeking information and comments from Federal, State, and local 
agencies, tribal organizations, individuals, businesses, and 
organizations that may be interested in, or affected by, the Proposed 
Action. Comments received as a result of this scoping will be included 
in the analysis and will be analyzed to identify issues to be 
considered in the Draft EIS. Public information meetings will be held 
this

[[Page 34277]]

summer at the following locations: July 8 from 5-8 p.m. at Harrigan 
Centennial Hall in the Exhibits Room in Sitka, Alaska; and June 24 from 
5-7 p.m. at the Admiralty National Monument and Juneau Ranger District 
office located at 8510 Mendenhall Loop Road, Juneau, Alaska. Dates for 
the meeting at the Hoonah Ranger District office at 430 Airport Way, 
Hoonah, Alaska will be announced in a public service announcement. If 
you are unable to attend one of the above public meetings, webinars 
will also be held this summer. You can contact us via email for 
directions and links.
    The Web site will provide electronic methods for providing comments 
through direct online entry. The Web site is the preferred method for 
receiving comments. 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 for 
this Proposed Action. Comments submitted anonymously will be accepted 
and considered.

    Dated: June 6, 2014.
Forrest Cole,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 2014-13991 Filed 6-13-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-P
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