U.S. Department of the Interior July 2017 Bureau of Land Management Central Yukon Field Office Central Yukon Resource Management Plan/ Environmental Impact Statement Preliminary Alternatives Concepts Public Comment Summary Report TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 1-1 1.1 Background ..................................................................................................................................... 1-1 1.2 Purpose of and Need for the Resource Management Plan ................................................ 1-2 1.3 Description of the Planning Area and Decision Area .......................................................... 1-2 1.4 Description of Alternatives Development Process .............................................................. 1-3 1.5 Description of the Public Involvement Process for the Public Review of Preliminary Alternatives Concepts ........................................................................................... 1-4 1.5.1 Public Meetings ............................................................................................................... 1-4 1.5.2 Mailing List and Postcard ............................................................................................. 1-5 1.5.3 Newspaper Advertisements and News Releases ................................................... 1-6 1.5.4 Project Website ............................................................................................................. 1-6 2. COMMENT SUMMARY .................................................................................................... 2-1 2.1 Method of Comment Collection and Analysis ...................................................................... 2-1 2.2 Summary of Public Comments .................................................................................................. 2-3 2.2.1 Commenter Information .............................................................................................. 2-3 2.2.2 Number of Comments by Category ......................................................................... 2-4 2.2.3 Summary of Comments Received at Public Meetings ........................................... 2-4 2.2.4 Summaries of Comments Related to Alternatives ................................................ 2-9 3. FUTURE STEPS .............................................................................................................. 3-1 3.1 Future Steps and Public Participation Opportunities ........................................................... 3-1 3.2 Contact Information .................................................................................................................... 3-2 3.2.1 Contacts ........................................................................................................................... 3-2 4. REFERENCES .................................................................................................................. 4-1 TABLES Page 1-1 Public Alternatives Meetings ..................................................................................................................... 1-5 1-2 Newspaper Advertisement Publication Dates and Location ............................................................. 1-6 2-1 Submissions by Geographic Location ...................................................................................................... 2-3 2-2 Comments by Category ............................................................................................................................. 2-4 2-3 Public Meeting Discussion Topics and Concerns................................................................................. 2-4 APPENDICES A Preliminary Alternatives Concepts Outreach Materials B Comments by Category C List of Commenters July 2017 Central Yukon Resource Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement i Preliminary Alternatives Concepts Public Comment Summary Report ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS Full Phrase ACEC areas of critical environmental concern ANCSA Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act ANILCA Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act BEACONS Boreal Ecosystems Analysis for Conservation Networks BLM United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management CEQ Council of Environmental Quality CFR Code of Federal Regulations CSU conservation system unit CYRMP Central Yukon Resource Management Plan EIS environmental impact statement FLPMA Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 NEPA National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 NPS United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service NWR National Wildlife Refuge PLO Public Land Order RMP resource management plan RNA research natural area ROD Record of Decision ROW right-of-way SRMA special recreation management area TAPs Trans-Alaska Pipeline System USFWS United States Fish and Wildlife Service ii Central Yukon Resource Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement July 2017 Preliminary Alternatives Concepts Public Comment Summary Report CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND The United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Central Yukon Field Office is preparing a resource management plan (RMP) with an associated environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Central Yukon Planning Area under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). The BLM’s RMPs form the basis for every action and approved use on the public lands. The BLM prepares RMPs for areas of public lands, called planning areas. Planning emphasizes a collaborative environment in which local, state, and tribal governments; the public; user groups; and industry work with the BLM to identify appropriate multiple uses of public lands. Plans are periodically revised as changing conditions and resource demands require. Through an evaluation of the existing plans, the BLM has decided that revisions are needed to the Utility Corridor RMP (BLM 1991), Central Yukon RMP (BLM 1986), and Southwest Management Framework Plan (BLM 1981). The revised Central Yukon RMP (CYRMP) will replace both the Utility Corridor and Central Yukon RMPs in their entirety and a small part of the Southwest Management Framework Plan. This report summarizes results of the preliminary alternatives concepts outreach phase of the NEPA planning process. This phase is one of several opportunities for the public to offer input on the RMP/EIS. Appendix A, Preliminary Alternatives Concepts Outreach Materials, item 1—NEPA Planning Process Handout, shows all phases of the RMP process. The alternatives outreach was conducted to offer the public the opportunity to review preliminary alternatives concepts (Appendix A, item 2—Preliminary Alternatives Concepts Handout) that were developed by the BLM in coordination with cooperating agencies. The public was invited to participate in 12 public alternatives meetings and to offer comments during the 60-day comment period; more information is included in Section 1.5, Description of July 2017 Central Yukon Resource Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement 1-1 Preliminary Alternatives Concepts Public Comment Summary Report 1. Introduction (Background) the Public Involvement Process for the Public Review of Preliminary Alternatives Concepts. Prior to this public review of preliminary alternatives concepts, the BLM conducted public scoping from June 14, 2013, to January 17, 2014. Scoping is an early and open process to determine the scope of issues surrounding the proposed actions and to identify significant issues. Public input during scoping helps the BLM to understand the issues that the public would like the agency to address as they develop the RMP. A summary of the results from public scoping has been published in a public scoping report (BLM 2015), which can be found on the project website (see Section 1.5.4, Project Website). 1.2 PURPOSE OF AND NEED FOR THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN The purpose of the CYRMP is to develop decisions to guide future land management within the planning area and subsequent site-specific projects. These decisions establish goals and objectives (desired outcomes) for day-to-day and long-term resource management. To achieve these goals and objectives, the RMP identifies uses (allocations) that are allowable, restricted, or prohibited. Management decisions include measures or criteria, such as desired outcomes (goals and objectives); administrative designations, such as areas of critical environmental concern (ACECs); proposed withdrawals; and suitability for congressional designations, such as an addition to the National Wild and Scenic River System. All decisions conform to the multiple use and sustained yield mandate of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA). The need for the CYRMP is to provide guidance and to address changes in resources, circumstances, laws, policies, and regulations in the planning area since the existing plans were developed in the 1980s and 1990s. The planning area includes identified corridors for utility and transportation projects, such as identified routes for multiple roads in the State of Alaska’s Roads to Resources initiative. The existing plans were completed when gold prices were a fraction of the current price; hence, development pressures related to access and mining activity have increased considerably, as has the demand for sand and gravel. The revised CYRMP will be more relevant to current and future issues