Wrangell residents commiserate with staff from the local and Petersburg Forest Service offices at the Nolan Center last Thursday. USFS is reaching out to residents of the two districts for input on a long-range project to undertake.
The Forest Service held a public input session with Wrangell residents last week, as it puts together ideas for a 10- to 15-year project to benefit the Wrangell and Petersburg districts of the Tongass National Forest.
The Central Tongass Landscape Level Analysis would plan for a major project on a large scale that would increase the number of activities authorized in a single analysis and decision. It reflects a larger effort nationwide to improve the USFS environmental analysis process, and the approach is hoped to allow site-specific projects to move forward more quickly.
What makes this approach unique is its timeline, which seeks out ideas and comments from the public before the National Environmental Policy Act process even begins.
"To me it starts the process where it should be, the local community," commented Earl Stewart, forest supervisor for the Tongass.
"It's not new to the Forest Service, but it's new here," Petersburg Ranger Dave Zimmerman said of the initiative.
He will be leading this particular effort for both districts, already meeting with residents in several communities since the initiative was announced in February. A previously planned session for Wrangell last month had to be put on hold due to wintry weather-related difficulties. But the team has been able to meet once with residents of Kake and twice in Petersburg.
Coming to the Nolan Center on March 8, Zimmerman was accompanied by Wrangell Ranger Bob Dalrymple, Earl Stewart, forest supervisor for the Tongass, and an assortment of staffers.
Participants were encouraged to make the rounds to the classroom's tables, divided up by subject and featured relevant USFS specialists. The subjects encompassed recreation; wildlife and subsistence; botany, weeds and heritage; water, fish and soils; and forestry and roads. A baker's dozen of Wrangell residents stopped in to provide their input, on the subjects, with recreation receiving the most attention of the lot.
Ideas included improving landing access at Mitkof Island's Banana Point, which currently requires boats to pull ashore against a steep, stony grade. Others suggested adding trails along Pats Lake, removing abandoned vehicles from the Roosevelt Harbor and Starfish Cove parking areas, and putting additional decking around Wrangell Island lakes to allow greater shore fishing opportunity.
The interests of Wrangell residents may differ from priorities held in Petersburg and Kake, and USFS staff will need to reconcile ideas into a single project.
"We're early in the process. We're still trying to learn about this, too," noted Carey Case, the Petersburg office's interdisciplinary team leader and a NEPA specialist. "Each community is a little bit different."
However, Stewart cited a recent positive example on Prince of Wales Island, where 11 communities were able to reach a consensus for their own landscape level analysis proposal within only a three-month timeframe.
In Wrangell and Petersburg's case, Zimmerman thought the full process would take about a year and a half. USFS hopes to issue a notice of intent proposing action on the project sometime in May, which would kick off a 30-day scoping comment period. That additional input would be considered before issuing a draft environmental impact statement in December.
The CTLLA will follow the NEPA process, and its proposals have to meet the requirements of the Tongass National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan of 2016. The resultant activities would likewise need to comply with applicable laws and regulations.
Additional input is being sought ahead of May's proposal. Ideas can be forwarded to the Petersburg office at comments-alaska-tongass-petersburg@fs.fed.us, or by calling 772-3871.
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