 December 16, 2008
The Thorne Bay District covers the northern half of Prince of Wales Island, and is one of two Ranger Districts on the island. The second District is located in Craig and covers the southern portion of the island. The DEIS lists several Alternatives for conducting this timber sale, including a No Action alternative that would mean no timber would be cut. As proposed, the DEIS calls for the Forest Service to adopt a Plan around one of the alternatives calling for about 75 million board feet (MMBF) of timber to be harvested from an area of about 55,000 acres. The other alternatives outline timber sales that range from 38MMBF up to the 68MMBF. The main differences in the three alternatives center around how the timber would be harvested. The Proposed alternative calls for the layout of up to 29 miles of additional roads in the sale area to facilitate the harvest. The sale is being proposed to support the 2008 Forest Plan Amendment for the Tongass, as well as to provide a stable supply of timber for the region's few remaining lumber mills. The economics of many of the region's communities hinges on the ability of the Forest to provide a stable level of timber for future harvesting. The Forest Service will plan the actual harvest areas that support other resource objectives in timber stand improvement for future growth, wildlife habitat, watershed function and scenic viewshed management to enhance the tourism and recreational and appeal of POW island. The public is encouraged to review the documents for this proposed action at the web address http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/tongass/projects/logjamDEIS/logjamDEIS.shtml . To submit comments on this action, please submit your name and mailing address, the name of any group or organization your comments represent, and your signature. Your comments will be accepted without the signature, but your standing for future process actions may not have legal standing without a signature. Scanned signatures attached to emails are acceptable. To comment by email, use a format compatible with MS Word and send to: comments-alaska-tongass-thorne-bay@fs.fed.us. Subject Line: comments-Logjam. Written comments must be sent to the following address: Thorne Bay Ranger District, Attn: Logjam DEIS, P.O. Box 19001, Thorne Bay, AK 99919 or FAX comments to: 907-828-3309. You can hand deliver comments to the Thorne Bay Ranger District office Mon-Fri, 8am-5pm except for holidays. You can also arrange to make oral comments. For more information you can call Frank Roberts, Zone Planner at (907) 828-3226.
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