Gravina Access Project Affected Environment Technical Memorandum Agreement No: 36893013 DOT&PF Project No: 67698 Federal Project No: ACHP-0922(5) Prepared for: State of Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities 6860 Glacier Highway Juneau, Alaska 99801 Prepared by: HDR Alaska, Inc. 712 West 12th St. Juneau, AK 99801 October 2000 Affected Environment Technical Memorandum Table of Contents 1.0 Land Use...........................................................................................................................................1-1 1.1 Land Ownership......................................................................................................................1-1 1.2 Current Land Use....................................................................................................................1-1 1.3 Regional Land Use Planning Studies......................................................................................1-3 2.0 Social and Economic Environment...................................................................................................2-1 2.1 Demographics .........................................................................................................................2-1 2.1.1 Ketchikan Gateway Borough Population ......................................................................2-1 2.1.2 Ketchikan City Population ............................................................................................2-1 2.1.3 Prince of Wales/Outer Ketchikan Population................................................................2-1 2.2 Employment Trends................................................................................................................2-1 2.2.1 Ketchikan Gateway Borough Employment ...................................................................2-1 2.2.2 Prince of Wales/Outer Ketchikan Employment.............................................................2-2 2.3 Personal Income Trends..........................................................................................................2-2 2.3.1 Ketchikan Gateway Borough Personal Income .............................................................2-2 2.3.2 Prince of Wales/Outer Ketchikan Personal Income.......................................................2-3 3.0 Community Facilities (Schools, Churches, Hospitals, Public Safety)...............................................3-1 4.0 Recreation Resources........................................................................................................................4-1 5.0 Economy and Economic Development .............................................................................................5-1 5.1 Forest Products........................................................................................................................5-1 5.2 Seafood Industry .....................................................................................................................5-2 5.2.1 Seafood Processing .......................................................................................................5-2 5.2.2 Ketchikan Commercial Fisheries Employment .............................................................5-2 5.3 Tourism...................................................................................................................................5-3 5.4 Government.............................................................................................................................5-5 5.5 Transportation.........................................................................................................................5-5 5.5.1 Ketchikan International Airport Employees ..................................................................5-5 5.5.2 Alaska Ship and Drydock, Inc.......................................................................................5-5 5.5.3 Alaska Marine Highway System and Inter-Island Ferry Authority................................5-5 5.6 Subsistence..............................................................................................................................5-6 6.0 Physical Environment .......................................................................................................................6-1 6.1 Geology, Topography, and Soils.............................................................................................6-1 6.1.1 Geology and Topography..............................................................................................6-1 6.1.2 Soils...............................................................................................................................6-1 6.2 Water Resources .....................................................................................................................6-2 6.2.1 Surface Water................................................................................................................6-2 6.2.2 Hydrologic Characteristics of Project Area Streams......................................................6-4 6.2.3 100-year Floodplain ......................................................................................................6-4 6.2.4 Water Quality................................................................................................................6-4 6.3 Air Quality ..............................................................................................................................6-5 6.4 Noise.......................................................................................................................................6-6 6.4.1 Noise Sources................................................................................................................6-6 6.4.2 Sensitive Receptors .......................................................................................................6-6 i Affected Environment Technical Memorandum 7.0 Biological Resources ........................................................................................................................7-1 7.1 Vegetation...............................................................................................................................7-1 7.1.1 Upland Areas.................................................................................................................7-1 7.1.2 Wetlands........................................................................................................................7-1 7.1.3 Aquatic Habitats............................................................................................................7-2 7.2 Wildlife ...................................................................................................................................7-2 7.2.1 Aquatic Species.............................................................................................................7-4 7.2.2 Amphibians ...................................................................................................................7-7 7.2.3 Birds..............................................................................................................................7-7 7.2.4 Land Mammals..............................................................................................................7-8 7.3 Protected Species ..................................................................................................................7-10 8.0 Historic and Archaeological Resources ............................................................................................8-1 9.0 Visual Environment ..........................................................................................................................9-1 10.0 Transportation.................................................................................................................................10-1 10.1 Aviation ................................................................................................................................10-1 10.2 Marine Navigation ................................................................................................................10-3 10.3 Local Roadways and Motor Vehicle Transportation.............................................................10-4 10.4 Pedestrians and Bicyclists .....................................................................................................10-5 11.0 Hazardous Waste Sites....................................................................................................................11-1 12.0 Utilities ...........................................................................................................................................12-1 12.1 Water.....................................................................................................................................12-1 12.2 Sewer ....................................................................................................................................12-1 12.3 Electricity..............................................................................................................................12-2 13.0 Natural Hazards ..............................................................................................................................13-1 13.1 Earthquakes...........................................................................................................................13-1 13.2 Landslides and Mass Wasting...............................................................................................13-1