Tongass Land and Resource Management Plan Amendment: Draft Environmental Impact Statement

This Draft EIS responds to the Secretary's Memo and the 5-Year Forest Plan Review by analyzing five alternatives for amending the Plan, including the No-Action alternative. A separate document, called the Proposed Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan), has been published with this Draft Environmental Impact Statement to represent the Forest Plan under the preferred alternative (Alternative 5). Alternative 5 is based on Tongass Advisory Committee's underlying principles, general approach, and recommendations. Appendix F displays a side-by-side comparison of the alternatives to show how they differ from the preferred alternative. Four key issues are identified: 1) transitioning to young-growth-based timber management in 10 to 15 years in an ecologically, socially, and economically sustainable manner; 2) promoting the development of renewable energy projects where it is compatible with National Forest purposes; 3) the effects of potential timber harvest activities in roadless areas; and 4) the effects of forest management on wildlife habitat and the Conservation Strategy. The five alternatives provide a range of options for addressing the issues. Direct, indirect, and cumulative effects of the alternatives are compared and disclosed in Chapters 2 and 3, based on inventory data and modeling.