[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 186 (Monday, September 27, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59206-59208]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-24179]
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Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents
appearing in this section.
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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 186 / Monday, September 27, 2010 /
Notices
[[Page 59206]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Ketchikan-Misty Fiords Ranger District; Tongass National Forest;
Alaska; Ketchikan-Misty Fiords Ranger District Outfitter/Guide
Management Plan
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: The USDA, Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact
statement (EIS) on a proposed action to allocate about 54,000 visitor
days (of the estimated recreation carrying capacity of approximately
148,000 days) annually for outfitter and guide use on the Ketchikan-
Misty Fiords Ranger District. The decision on the EIS will allocate
recreation carrying capacity on the District to outfitters and guides
through special use permits that serve the public need for guide
services. The allocation will set limits for outfitter and guide use
levels, but will not limit or regulate use by unguided visitors. The
alternatives will include the proposed action, no action, and
additional alternatives that respond to issues identified during
scoping. The agency will give notice of the full environmental analysis
and decision-making process so interested and affected people may
participate and contribute to the final decision.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received
by November 1, 2010. The draft environmental impact statement is
expected to be completed in March 2011 and the final environmental
impact statement is expected in August 2011.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Sue Jennings, Interdisciplinary
Team Leader, Ketchikan-Misty Fiords Ranger District, 3031 Tongass Ave.,
Ketchikan, AK 99901, Fax: (907) 225-8738 or on-line at [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sue Jennings, Interdisciplinary Team
Leader, (907) 772-5864, by email: [email protected], or Ketchikan-
Misty Fiords Ranger District, 3031 Tongass Ave., Ketchikan, AK 99901.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose and Need for Acton
In 2007, the Forest Supervisor determined a need existed for
outfitter and guide services within Wilderness Areas on the Tongass. In
2008, a Determination of Need for Commercial Uses on the Ketchikan-
Misty Fiords Ranger District was completed that demonstrated the need
for commercially guided opportunities on the wilderness and non-
wilderness portions of the District.
This action responds to the goals and objectives outlined in the
Forest Plan, which provides standards and guidelines for authorizing
the services of qualified outfitters and guides to the public in areas
with an identified need for the services and the use is compatible with
the objectives and management direction of the affected Land Use
Designation.
A district-wide outfitter/guide plan is needed because the current
permitting process:
Does not satisfy Forest Service direction for issuing
long-term (5-10 year) priority use permits,
Does not provide managers with a district-wide strategy
for reducing conflicts between guided and unguided visitors and
ensuring a range of recreational opportunities are offered across the
District,
Does not allow the Forest Service to respond to special
use permit applications in a timely manner because each application
involves a separate analysis and scoping process consistent with the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and
Does not fully address cumulative impacts of outfitter/
guide use on forest resources, including wilderness character.
The purpose of this plan is to:
Determine visitor capacity estimates and outfitter and
guided use allocations for 28 recreation use areas on the Ketchikan-
Misty Fiords Ranger District,
Provide opportunities for guided use while minimizing
resource impacts and conflicts between guided and unguided visitors,
Satisfy Forest Service requirements for issuance of long-
term, priority use permits,
Provide standards and indicators for monitoring social
conditions across the District,
Develop an adaptive management strategy for adjusting
guided use allocations based on monitoring information collected during
the life of this plan, and
Improve the Forest Service's ability to process permits in
a timely manner.
If there is a demonstrated need for commercial service(s) and these
services are deemed appropriate, the Forest Service may issue Special
Use Authorizations (SUAs) to individual(s) or organization(s) (USDA
2008a, p.3-20) to provide the services. This action also responds to
Forest Service policy (FSM 2720 and FSH2709.11), which allows for
issuance of priority use permits, after a needs assessment and resource
capacity analysis have been completed to identify the public or agency
need for outfitting and guiding activities and to assess the amount of
use that may be conducted without detrimental social and environmental
impacts. Multi-year priority use permits allow outfitters and guides to
make financial commitments necessary to continue providing service to
the public.
The overall goal of the project is to work with the public to
provide opportunities for guided and unguided use, while minimizing
conflicts and protecting forest resources.
Proposed Action
The action proposed by the Forest Service to meet the purpose and
need is to authorize outfitter and guide operations through the
issuance of special use permits based on the Determination of Need for
Commercial Uses on the Ketchikan-Misty Fiords Ranger District (2008),
visitor capacity estimates, and guided use allocations for the
District's 28 recreation use areas.
This proposed action would authorize the issuance of commercial
outfitter/guide permits for KMRD. The proposed action allocates zero to
75 percent of the visitor capacity in the 28 use areas to outfitters
and guides during the summer season and zero to 40 percent during the
spring and fall seasons. Overall, the proposal would allocate
approximately 54,000 visitor days annually for outfitter and guide use
on the KMRD (5,124
[[Page 59207]]
visitor days in the spring, 44,420 visitor days in the summer, and
4,456 visitor days in the fall). Some of the areas with a proposed
allocation of 75 percent are in wilderness areas that are little used
by unguided visitors. Due to very low outfitter and guide use in the
winter, there are no winter allocations proposed with this project;
winter permitting will follow the current process.
The Proposed Action includes the ability to use adaptive management
to maintain a range of quality recreation experiences across the
District and a balance between guided and unguided use. Adaptive
management may result in increased or decreased allocations for
specific recreation use areas based on standards and the level of
effects.
All outfitter and guide operations will be subject to area-wide and
site-specific mitigation measures to protect natural and historic
resources and minimize crowding and conflicts between guided and
unguided visitors.
For those operators who have demonstrated satisfactory performance,
the District Ranger may issue priority use permits based on the guided
use allocations, for a period of up to 10 years, in accordance with FSH
2709.11, Chapter 40. Authorized use may also be temporary in nature
(authorized for less than one year).
Possible Alternatives
A full range of alternatives will be considered including a ``No
Action'' alternative in which no change from the current management of
the outfitter and guide special uses program would occur; outfitter and
guide special use permits would continue to be issued on a temporary
basis. Based on preliminary issues gathered through collaborative
meetings prior to scoping, two additional alternatives are under
consideration. One alternative may allocate one-half of the estimated
carrying capacity to outfitters and guides across the 28 recreation use
areas. Another alternative may propose minimal (15 percent) allocations
in some wilderness-recreation-use-areas, no allocations in some
sensitive areas and areas heavily used by unguided visitors, 25 percent
use in the Margaret Bay Use Area, and 50 percent allocation in other
areas during the summer season. These alternatives could be adjusted
and/or additional alternatives proposed based on comments received
during scoping.
Responsible Official
The Ketchikan-Misty Fiords District Ranger is the responsible
official for this proposal: Ketchikan-Misty Fiords District Ranger,
3031 Tongass Ave., Ketchikan, AK 99901.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
The District Ranger will decide how to manage the outfitter and
guide special use program by allocating a portion of the total
estimated recreation carrying capacity for commercial use, while
protecting forest resources and taking into account the needs of
unguided visitors.
Given the purpose and need, the District Ranger will review the
proposed action and the other alternatives in order to make the
following decisions:
The locations, limitations, management, and allocations
for outfitter and guide permits and opportunities on the Ketchikan-
Misty Fiords Ranger District, for the next five to ten years;
The extent, type, amount, and location of outfitter and
guide use to allocate within the Misty Fiords Wilderness Area;
How best to manage outfitter and guide use on the KMRD to
minimize potential impacts to all resources; and
What, if any, mitigation measures and monitoring are
needed.
The District Ranger will also decide whether and how to use
adaptive management to potentially increase or decrease allocations for
specific recreation use areas in order to maintain a range of quality
recreation experiences across the District and a balance between guided
and unguided use.
Scoping Process
The public will have an opportunity to participate at several
points during the analysis, including the scoping period after
publication of the Notice of Intent and the draft EIS in the Federal
Register. Notification of these opportunities will also appear in
subsequent issues of the Tongass National Forest's Schedule of Proposed
Activities; letters to agencies, organizations, and individuals who
have previously indicated their interest in such activities; and in the
Ketchikan Daily News. A public meeting is planned in Ketchikan on
October 26, 2010 at the Ketchikan-Misty Fiords Ranger District Office,
3031 Tongass Ave., Ketchikan, AK 99901, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Public
meetings and subsistence hearings are expected in Ketchikan, Saxman,
Hyder, and Metlakatla during the spring of 2011, after the DEIS is
published in the Federal Register. The scoping process will include
identifying major issues to be analyzed in depth, eliminating non-
significant issues, considering alternatives based on issues recognized
during scoping activities, and identifying potential environmental
effects of the proposed action and alternatives (i.e. direct, indirect,
and cumulative effects).
Preliminary Issues
Preliminary issues were identified during collaborative meetings
held before scoping began on this project. Preliminary issues include
the potential effects of the proposed action on businesses, wilderness,
heritage resources, and visitors' experience (through crowding and
noise disturbance).
Permits or Licenses Required
The Forest Service is not required to obtain permits or licenses to
implement this project. However, outfitter and guide permit holders are
responsible for obtaining necessary permits from federal and state
agencies prior to commencing outfitting and guiding.
Comment Requested
This Notice of Intent initiates the scoping process, which guides
the development of the environmental impact statement. Public comments
about this proposal are requested in order to assist in properly
scoping issues, to determine how best to manage the resources, and to
fully analyze environmental effects. Please identify issues of concern
to you and the Ketchikan-Misty Fiords Ranger District communities about
recreational use.
Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent
Environmental Review: A draft environmental impact statement will be
prepared for comment. The comment period on the draft environmental
impact statement will be 45 days from the date the Environmental
Protection Agency publishes the notice of availability in the Federal
Register. It is important that reviewers provide their comments at such
times and in such a way that they are useful to the Agency's
preparation of the EIS. Therefore, comments should be provided prior to
the close of the comment period and should clearly articulate the
reviewer's concerns and contentions. The submission of timely and
specific comments can affect a reviewer's ability to participate in
subsequent administrative review or judicial review. 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;
however, anonymous comments will not provide the
[[Page 59208]]
respondent with standing to participate in subsequent administrative
review or judicial review.
Reviewers may wish to refer to the Council on Environmental Quality
Regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of the National
Environmental Policy Act at 40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points.
Comments received, including the names and addresses of those who
comment, will be considered part of the public record on this proposal
and will be available for public inspection.
Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; Forest Service Handbook
1909.15, Section 21.
Dated: September 20, 2010.
Jeffrey DeFreest,
District Ranger.
[FR Doc. 2010-24179 Filed 9-24-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-P