APPENDIX I FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 1982 ADDITIONAL MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING RECORD STATEMENT OF JOHN B. CROWELL, JR., ASSISTANT SECRETARY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Before the Subcommittee on Public Lands and National Parks United States House of Representatives On Public Law 96-487, the Alaska National Interest April 30, 1982 MR. CHAIRMAN AND MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE: I appreciate the opportunity to brief the Committee on the Department of Agriculture's progress toward implementation of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). I am accompanied by R. Max Peterson, Chief of the Forest Service, and John Sandor, Regional Forester in Alaska. In the interest of time, I will not try to cover every item in the act with which the Department is involved. Rather, I will limit my prepared remarks to some of those items in the act of major significance or those with especially critical time frames. I have also provided the Committee with a detailed Alaska Lands Act Implementation Plan and Status Report which lists all items in the act for which the Department has responsibility or involvement. The Implementation Plan and Status Report is current as of April 16, 1982. MAPPING (SECTION 103) One of the first sections of the act deals with mapping descriptions and acreage calculations of lands affected. The maps of the 14 wilderness areas as designated in the act have been completed and forwarded to the Congress in accordance with the act's requirements. Mapping for the National Forest additions is finished and net acreage calculations are being completed as land status records are received. NATIONAL MONUMENTS (SECTION 503) Two National Monuments, Admiralty Island and Misty Fiords, were established by the act on the Tongass National Forest to be administered by the Forest Service. Management plans are now being developed for each of these units. The draft of the Admiralty Island Monument plan is scheduled for completion in May 1982, while the draft plan of Misty Fiords National Monument is to be completed by January 1983. Public input is a key element of the Monument planning process. SPECIAL MINERAL RESOURCES (SECTION 503) The act provides special direction for the management of the mineral resources. Specifically, it addresses the United States Borax and Chemical Corporation's molybdenum claims at Quartz Hill within the Misty Fiords National Monument and the Noranda Mining Company's claims in the Green Creek area of Admiralty Island National Monument, both within the Tongass National Forest. Under Section 503 (h) (2) of the act, a draft document issued in June 1981, for public review and comment, analyzed mine development concepts prepared by the United States Borax Chemical Corporation on their proposed molybdenum mine development in the Quartz Hill area. The final analysis of the proposed mining operation was issued September 1, 1981. Completion of these documents was on schedule. Under Section 503 (h)(3) of the act, an environmental impact statement (EIS) is required which covers an access road for bulk sampling purposes and the bulk sampling phase proposed by U.S. Borax in the Quartz Hill area. draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) was released December 2, 1981, on schedule. A supplemental DEIS released March 26, 1982, addressed public comments received and provided additional analysis of data not included in the earlier document. It also identified the Forest Service preferred alternative route of the proposed road access. Public comments are requested by May 18, 1982. The final EIS is scheduled for release in early July. For the Green Creek area and the Noranda claims on Admiralty Island National Monument, an environmental impact statement is underway relating to proposed mine developments including access routes. The draft of this EIS is planned for release in June 1982, with the final scheduled for release in December 1982. If economic conditions should warrant, construction on this project could begin in fiscal year 1983. COOPERATIVE FISHERIES (SECTION 507) Cooperative fisheries planning for the Tongass and Chugach National Forests will be accomplished through coordination with the ongoing regional comprehensive salmon planning in the State. Regional comprehensive salmon plans are being developed for the major fisheries regions of the State. The planning process is being accomplished by Regional Planning Teams (RPT's) consisting of State and Regional Aquaculture Association representatives appointed by the Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The comprehensive salmon plans establish harvestable salmon production goals to be reached during the 20-year life of the plans (1980-2000). Based on the regional comprehensive fisheries plans, 5-year action plans for the National Forests are being developed and will be incorporated into the Forest Plans following the National Forest Management Act planning process. The action proposed will list priority enhancement projects such as fish ladders and lake fertilization. WILD AND SCENIC RIVERS (SECTION 604) A draft of the Situk Wild and Scenic River Study and report was released for public review on April 15. Notification will be published in the April 30 Federal Register and the public review period will extend through July 28. The study was conducted by an interdisciplinary team which included representation from the Forest Service and the State of Alaska's Department of Fish and Game. The study is urgently needed for management of the area including the possibility of salvaging approximately 50 million board feet of blowdown timber on lands partially within the study area. Public input to the study began with a brochure distributed in November 1981 and included public meetings with local citizens, Alaska native representatives, and special interest groups. Completion of the final document is anticipated in the fall of 1982. WILDERNESS DESIGNATED (SECTION 703) As you are aware, major provisions of the act provided for designation of 5.4 million acres as wilderness on the Tongass National Forest with the remaining 11.6 million acres on the Forest to be managed for a broad range of multiple uses other than wilderness. In accordance with the act, a wilderness management policy for the Alaska Region has been drafted and is presently under internal review by the Forest Service. In November 1981, a Wilderness Management Workshop was conducted in Alaska for personnel responsible for the administration of the 14 designated wildernesses. Legal descriptions and maps have been completed and were recently transmitted to the Congress. |