[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
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
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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