October 04, 2006
Wednesday

Petersburg, Alaska - Southeast Alaska wood products businesses will have another 8.3 million board feet of high-quality Tongass National Forest timber available under the Scott Peak Project Area decision, Petersburg District Ranger Patty Grantham announced today. The Scott Peak Project Area is located on northeast Kupreanof Island. All harvest units are in roaded areas allocated specifically for timber production.

The decision authorizes reconstruction of a mile of existing National Forest System Road and construction of about 2 miles of temporary road to facilitate the harvest. The decision also adjusts the size, location and configuration of the small old-growth habitat reserve within the Scott Peak Project Area so that it meets the criteria specified for such areas in the forest plan. About 565 acres of productive old growth will be added to the reserve; this and other changes will improve its quality significantly. The Forest's system of old-growth reserves is an important component of the forest plan's overall conservation strategy.

An initial decision on the project was issued late in 2005, but that decision was reversed during the Forest Service's administrative appeal process. The administrative review of the environmental analysis for the initial decision indicated that the Scott Peak Final Environmental Impact Statement should have also considered the potential harvest of the remaining unharvested units associated with the Todahl/Backline project in its analysis of cumulative effects. The new ROD contains a summary of the updated cumulative effects analysis and an errata sheet explaining the corrections made to the Final Environmental Impact Statement.

This decision is subject to appeal under 36 Code of Federal Regulations Part 215. Appeals must be filed within 45 days of the date that legal notification of this decision is published in the Juneau Empire, the newspaper of record.

Tongass National Forest Supervisor Forrest Cole's decision is documented in the Scott Peak Project Area 2006 Record of Decision (ROD), a document that is currently available to the public.

Anyone who would like a copy of the Scott Peak Final EIS (2001), the 2005 ROD, and/or the 2006 ROD, should contact Kris Rutledge, Scott Peak Project Leader, P.O. Box 1328, Petersburg, Alaska 99833; e-mail address: krutledge@fs.fed.us; or call (907) 772-3871. Copies of these documents are also available at most Forest Service offices and public libraries in Southeast Alaska.

Source of News:

USDA- Forest Service: Tongass National Forest
www. fs.fed.us

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