Kupreanof Island Analysis for Your Review and Comment
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United States Forest Alaska Region Tongass National Forest (*=) Department of Service Petersburg Ranger District @ Agriculture P.O. BOX 1328 Petersburg, AK 99833 File Code: 1950 Date: September 15, 2000 Dear Reviewer: Enclosed is a draft copy of the Kupreanof Island Analysis for your review and comment. This report provides a broad look at existing natural resource conditions and patterns of human use, and describes how the Forest Plan guides management of National Forest lands on Kupreanof Island. It also lists ongoing projects and recommends possible projects that could take place in the next 20 years. This is not a decision document. The projects listed have either been through, or will go through National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis before they can be implemented, which will allow public involvement. By looking at Kupreanof Island as a whole, we hope to see how activities and resources are linked together on the island. This analysis shows how projects can be designed to accomplish Forest Plan management objectives. Consideration of public comments has been essential to this analysis and provides the basis for developing project ideas and objectives. We reviewed over 40 environmental documents and other reports associated with Kupreanof Island from the past 25 years. We held public meetings in both Petersburg and Kake. Comments received on past projects, at public meetings, and during this analysis have been included in this document. This document has been a long time in preparation. We began the project in 1995. In 1997, a new Forest Plan was issued which changed the way we manage forest resources. Modifications were added to the Forest Plan in 1999. All current Forest Plan direction has been incorporated into this document. Thank you for your participation in this important project. We welcome your additional comments. We are requesting them by December 1, 2000. For more information or questions, please contact Bob Dalrymple (907) 772-3871. Sincerely BFATRICI A. ANTHAM District Ranger L@ a Caring for the Land and Serving People Printed m Recycled Paper%3 Kupreanof Island Analysis United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Alaska Region Tongass National Forest Petersburg Ranger District For information, contact: Bob Dalrymple Tongass National Forest P.O. BOX 1328 Petersburg, Alaska 99833 (907) 772-3871 Abstract: This document describes the national forest resources on Kupre- anof Island and lists Forest Plan direction for these resources. Projects and activities are suggested based on the Forest Plan and on public con- cerns and preferences. Table of Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................................1 About This Project ....................................................................................................... 1 Why We Decided to Do This Project ...........................................................................2 How We Did lt .............................................................................................................2 Chapter 1- Public Comments and Ideas ....................................................................7 Wildlife ........................................................................................................................7 Timber ........................................................................................................................8 Recreation, Tourism, and Scenery ............................................................................ 10 Subsistence and Traditional Values and Customs .................................................... 11 Aquatic Species and Watershed ...............................................................................ll Transportation ..............................................................0............................................ 12 Comments Beyond the Scope of the Kupreanof Island Analysis ............................... 13 Chapter 2- Landscape Patterns ................................................................................17 Human Use Patterns ................................................................................................. 17 Geology .................................................................................................................... 19 Vegetation ................................................................................................................20 Climate and Hydrology ..............................................................................................2l Wildlife ......................................................................................................................22 Fisheries ...................................................................................................................22 Chapter 3- Resource Information .............................................................................25 Forest Plan Direction ................................................................................................25 Laws Directing Resource Management on National Forests .....................................25 Land Use Designations on Kupreanof Island ............................................................26 Non-National Forest Lands on Kupreanof island .......................................................27 Fish, Soil, and Water Resources ...............................................................................28 Heritage Resources and Traditional Customs ...........................................................35 Recreation and Tourism ............................................................................................38 Scenery ....................................................................................................................47 Subsistence ..............................................................................................................53 Transportation ...........................................................................................................57 Vegetation and Timber ............................................................................... ...............65 Wildlife ......................................................................................................................8O Chapter 4- Projects and Design Objectives .............................. 89 Bibliography ...............................................................................................................99 List of Maps (see separate map packet) Map 1 Landscape Patterns Map 2 Land Use Designations (LUDS) Map 3 Fish, Soils, and Watersheds Map 4 Recreation Places Map 5 Road Systems Map 6 Land Suitable for Timber Harvest Map 7 North Kupreanof Area Projects Map 8 Southwest Kupreanof Area Projects Map 9 Duncan Canal Area Projects Kupreanof Island Analysis Introduction About This Project Welcome to the Kupreanof Island Analysis. and human use and activities on the island. This document is an island-wide planning Over time, conditions may change and the analysis. Two previous island-wide analyses Kupreanof Island Analysis will be updated. with which you may be familiar are the Mitkof This analysis also recommends possible fu- Landscape Design (1995) and the Wrangell ture projects. Implementation of future Island Analysis (1998). This level of planning projects would require National Environ- falls between the forest-wide level of the mental Policy Act (NEPA) analyses. You will Tongass Land and Resource Management have the opportunity to comment on projects Plan (Forest Plan) and site-specific project proposed in this document during site-specific planning. Mid-level planning takes a broader planning. view and sets the stage for detailed studies or close-in views. Figure1 As noted above, forest planning is composed of varying levels at differing scales. Imagine for a moment that the Forest Plan (forest- wide level) looks at Kupreanof Island from a satellite. The high-altitude view in Figure 1 reveals how Kupreanof Island fits into the broad scale of the entire Tongass National Forest. This particular Island Analysis takes a closer look at Kupreanof Island as from a floatplane at an altitude of 3,000 feet. From the float- plane, we see how human activities fit into the Kupreanof Island landscape area. (See Figure 2.) Site-specific project planning looks closer still - from ground level. Site-specific project planning looks at how each proposed project fits on the ground, with neighboring projects Tongass National Forest outlined in the island analysis design (see with Kupreanof Island Highlighted Figure 3). Each of these planning efforts is important for the overall management of Ku- preanof Island. The Kupreanof Island Analysis provides a look at existing natural resource conditions Kupreanof IslandAnalvsis Why We Decided to Do This Project We began an island-wide analysis for two reasons. First, we wanted to look at relation- ships between ecological processes and forest management across Kupreanof Island. When planning projects such as roads, timber harvest, recreation facilities, or fish and wild- life habitat improvements, we focus on small project areas in one- to three-year time frames. Past project implementation has resulted in the present natural and modified landscapes across Kupreanof Island. lsland- wide planning helps us anticipate the cumula- tive effects of various projects distributed over space and time on the island. For example,