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WORLDWIDE
FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS
BIOD
AA: Demand Wilderness Protection for Alaska's Chugach
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Forest Networking a Project of Forests.org
http://forests.org/ -- Forest Conservation
Portal
http://forests.org/web/ -- Discuss Forest
Conservation
11/07/00
OVERVIEW
& COMMENTARY
Despite
the fact that Alaska's Chugach National Forest is the 2nd
largest
national forest in the United States, 98% of its area is in a
roadless
condition, and it is one of the World's most significant
remaining
intact temperate rainforests; there is no legally protected
wilderness
designated in these forests. Failure to
secure wilderness
status
dooms most of these priceless cathedrals to evolutionary
brilliance
to eventual commercial logging. The
Chugach includes
several
globally significant temperate rainforest wilderness expanses
with
extraordinary environments that deserve strict protection
covering
large areas. The Chugach Land
Management Plan Now is
currently
being revised, and the public comment period now being
carried
out is the time to demand wilderness protection for large
areas
of this National Forest, which should include restrictions on
snowmobiles
and other diminishing land uses. Please
take the time to
demand
wilderness protection for the Chugach's Copper River Delta,
Prince
William Sound and Kenai Peninsula - more information is
provided
below.
g.b.
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TEXT STARTS HERE:
ITEM #1
Title: DEMAND WILDERNESS FOR ALASKA'S CHUGACH
NATIONAL FOREST -
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD UNDER WAY
Source: Alaska Rainforest Campaign, www.akrain.org
Date: November 6, 2000
Background:
Alaska's
Chugach National Forest - encompassing 5.5 million acres -
is the
northern-most temperate rainforest in the nation, and one of
the
world's last remaining intact rainforests. It is the second
largest
national forest in the country, and although 98% of the
Chugach
is classified as roadless and qualifies for Wilderness
designation,
there is no designated Wilderness on the forest.
Comprised
of Alaska's Kenai Peninsula, Prince William Sound, and the
Copper
River Delta, the issues and threats facing these three regions
vary
and demand wilderness protection for all regions.
The
Forest Service is in the process of revising the Chugach Land
Management
Plan (the plan that governs the forest) and has just
released
its Draft Environmental Impact Statement. The agency's
preferred
alternative falls short on Wilderness recommendations. The
agency
is now accepting public comments on their plan. Some of the
key
areas within the Chugach that are deserving of Wilderness
protection
include:
COPPER
RIVER DELTA: The Copper River Delta lies just east of Prince
William
Sound, and at 700,000 acres is the largest wetlands complex
on the
Pacific coast of North America. Biologists describe the Delta
as one
of the most important shorebird habitats in the Western
Hemisphere,
supporting over 16 million shorebirds and other
waterfowl.
The Delta also sustains one of the most prized salmon runs
in the
world. The Delta has been designated a Western Hemisphere
Shorebird
Reserve Site and a State Critical Wildlife Habitat area.
Unfortunately,
development proposals threaten this area. An Alaskan
Native
corporation, which has title to an inholding on the eastern
border
of the Delta within forest boundaries, wants to build a 55-
mile
road across these sensitive Delta wetlands to their inholding,
and log
approximately 8,000 acres of forestland on their property. A
Korean
businessman who owns the sub-surface estate below the
inholding
has plans to develop a coal mine and ship coal to Korea.
Additionally,
the Native Corporation has plans to develop oil and gas
leases
near Katalla, just south of their inholding on the coast of
the
Delta. Wilderness recommendations on Forest Service lands offer
one of
the best opportunities to protect the Delta from development.
PRINCE
WILLIAM SOUND: Eleven years after the Exxon Valdez oil spill,
when
nearly 11 million gallons of oil spilled into Prince William
Sound,
the Sound is still recovering and needs added protection. Only
two
species of the many affected by the oil spill are considered
recovered
-- the bald eagle and the river otter. Those not recovering
include
killer whales, harbor seals, common loons, three species of
cormorants,
harlequin ducks, and pigeon guillemots. The status of
numerous
other species is either unknown or slowly recovering. Prince
William
Sound is spectacularly beautiful, with mountains cloaked by
rainforest
surrounding fiords where glaciers reach down to the sea.
Congress
intended to protect this extraordinary environment when it
created
close to a 2 million acre Wilderness Study Area (WSA) in
western
Prince William Sound, with the passage of the Alaska National
Interest
Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). While boat and other
motorized
traffic increases on the Sound, the Forest Service has
reduced
the recommended Wilderness for the WSA in their preferred
alternative
from the 1984 Forest Plan.
KENAI
PENINSULA: The Kenai Peninsula is road accessible from
Anchorage
and is a very popular recreation area in south central
Alaska.
Snowmachine and other motorized uses on the Kenai have
increased
dramatically in the past decade. The Kenai Peninsula
overall
has experienced a huge amount of development on private
lands,
including subdivisions and large-scale logging. These
activities
have impacted brown bear habitat and population numbers.
Kenai
brown bears are considered an isolated and sensitive
population,
and at this time their population is being closely
managed
for long-term viability. The Chugach National Forest provides
a
significant reserve on the Kenai for brown bear habitat. The Forest
Service
has recommended no Wilderness on the Kenai.
Update:
Now is
the time for us, owners of our public lands, to speak up and
demand
Wilderness specifically for the special areas recommended
above.
Additionally, you can support Alternative F, which recommends
Wilderness
for most of these special areas.
You can
submit comments until December 14 to Dave Gibbons, Forest
Supervisor,
Chugach National Forest, 3301C St., Anchorage, AK 99503-
3998,
ore-mail your comments to: glehnhausen@fs.fed.us; or fax: 907-
271-3992.
When
writing your comments, you may want to use the following
information
on these three special areas:
COPPER
RIVER DELTA: Conservationists are urging the Forest Service to
recommend
wilderness for all of the valuable Copper River Delta
wetlands
both east and west of the river. The Forest Service had
recommended
Wilderness for the southeastern portion of the Delta in
an
early draft of their preferred alternative, but changed that
recommendation
in the Draft EIS. Additionally, all eligible wild and
scenic
rivers forest-wide should be recommended, including the
Copper,
Martin, Bering, Katalla Rivers, Alaganik Slough, and Martin
and
Bering Lakes.
PRINCE
WILLIAM SOUND: Conservationists are urging the Forest Service
to
recommend the entire Wilderness Study Area, Knight and Montague
Islands,
and Jack and Sawmill Bays as Wilderness to help protect
species
recovering from the Exxon Valdez oil spill and the Sound from
large-scale
industrial tourism.
KENAI
PENINSULA: Conservationists are urging the Forest Service to
recommend
Wilderness on the Kenai to protect brown bears and their
habitat
and to reduce motorized use. Specifically, Resurrection Creek
and
River areas, Snow River and Twentymile should be recommended as
Wilderness
on the Kenai.
Corrie
Bosman
National
Field Director
Alaska
Rainforest Campaign
(907)747-8292
www.akrain.org
ITEM #2
Title: People weigh in on new Chugach National
Forest plan
Source: Associated Press, Copyright 2000
Date: November 5, 2000
Sides
are lining up on the Chugach National Forest's new management
plan
and whether the Copper River Delta should be designated a
wilderness
area.
Forest
planners say they have so far received about 12,000 cards on
the
wilderness designation. Most were printed by the National
Wildlife
Federation, with the slogan "Keep it Wild" in red letters.
Hundreds
more are handwritten.
"We've
spent two years trying to raise the profile of the Copper
River
Delta because we believe it's a unique place in the world,"
said
Tony Turrini, Alaska director of the National Wildlife
Federation.
"People are recognizing that."
The
plan recommends setting aside about 2 million acres, including
much of
the land around Prince William Sound and part of the eastern
Copper
River Delta, as wilderness.
Originally
forest officials had designated more of the delta as
wilderness
but later cut out about 300,000 acres because of
objections
from fishermen and local residents in Cordova.
Environmentalists
complain that the Forest Service has cut out
crucial
wildlife habitat.
Gary
Lehnhausen, the forest's lead planner, said it's unlikely that
the
postcard campaign will change the Forest Service's mind on the
delta.
"This
is one area where local concerns will probably outweigh
national
input," he said.
Locally,
the topic that is getting the most attention is snowmachine
access.
It's been the lead topic at a current round of meetings in
Southcentral
Alaska communities.
"The
issue of snowmachining is heating up, especially on the Kenai,"
Lehnhausen
said.
The
proposed 10-year forest plan suggests closing 11 areas of the
forest
to snowmachines and placing seasonal restrictions on four
more.
The
most contested trails and areas include the Twentymile River near
Portage,
the Lost Lake trail near Seward and the Seattle Creek valley
on the
south side of Turnagain Arm between Portage and Hope. Seattle
Creek
would be completely closed to snowmachines, while Twentymile
would
be closed to snowmachines on alternate years and Lost Lake
would
be open to snowmachines from December through March.
Other
areas that would be closed to snowmachines are Kern Creek,
Peterson
Creek, Crow Pass, Bear Valley, the west side of Turnagain
Pass,
Manitoba Mountain, John's Creek, Tiehack Mountain, Skookum
Glacier
and Winner Creek. Other areas to be shared include
Resurrection
Pass and Ingram to the Sterling Highway.
Some of
those areas, such as Manitoba and Turnagain west, are already
closed
to snowmachines.
Brant
Grifka, a medical administrator at Elmendorf Air Force Base, is
one of
about 80 snowmachiners who showed up at a meeting in Anchorage
this
week to argue for more riding areas. He said he's particularly
upset
about the closure of Seattle Creek and a seasonal closure at
Lost
Lake trail, which he described as his "favorite place to ride in
the
state."
Jim
Adams, president of the Quiet Rights Coalition, said the area
closed
to snowmachining consists of a small portion of the forest.
"Snowmachiners
state a 'no net loss' policy," he said. "The problem
with
that is there is almost nothing now that is closed to
snowmachines."
While
about 90 percent of the Kenai Peninsula would remain open for
snowmachines,
Grifka and other riders note that some of the most
accessible
areas have been closed.
Public
comment on the plan is open until Dec. 14. More meetings are
planned
this month for Hope, Seward, Soldotna and Cooper Landing.
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