 July 07, 2005
A public meeting is slated for 4 to 7 p.m. July 28 in the Craig Ranger District conference room. The proposed project could involve the harvesting of 25 to 40 million board feet of timber on Suemez Island within the Tongass National Forest's Craig Ranger District. The proposal would make timber available for sales programs on both the Craig and Thorne Bay Ranger districts located on Prince of Wales Island. "This project is part of our ongoing effort to implement the Forest Plan, which allows sustainable timber harvesting activities on a small portion of the Tongass to support communities in southeast Alaska," said Craig District Ranger Greg Killinger. The proposed project would include approximately 16 miles of new road construction. About three-and-a-half miles of this road would be temporary. An Environmental Impact Statement will be prepared to study and compare any possible impacts of different alternatives on resources in the area. "We are now in the scoping stage of a planned 12-month schedule for completing the EIS," Killinger explained. "Public participation is the first formal step in the National Environmental Policy Act process. Scoping identifies the potential issues, concerns and opportunities associated with this project." A 45-day comment period for this proposed action began with publication of the Notice of Intent in the Federal Register on July 6. "We encourage people to comment on any issues that are of concern to them and their community," said Killinger. People can send comments to Planning Staff, Thorne Bay Ranger District, Attn: Scratchings Scoping, P.O. Box 19001, Thorne Bay, Alaska 99919-0001. People also can fax their comments to (907) 828-3309, or e-mail them to comments-alaska-tongass-thorne-bay@fs.fed.us with a subject line of Scratchings Scoping.
On the Web:
Source of News:
Publish A Letter on SitNews Read Letters/Opinions Submit A Letter to the Editor
|