Major Public Land EIS Comments Due Feb 14
Map of Alaska showing the study area lands in yellow crosshatch. Image created by the BLM.
By Allison Sayer
The BLM is seeking comments on a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) regarding changing the status of nearly 28 million acres of Alaskan federal public land. They are due February 14. The BLM identified four alternatives that could be pursued, but has not yet stated which alternative it will recommend to the Secretary of the Interior.
Several Copper Basin communities have the potential for the greatest impact on federal subsistence hunting statewide under some of the proposed alternatives.
In 1972 and 1973, a hold was placed on transfer and various kinds of development on 158 million acres of federal land as part of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). The purposes were twofold: 1) to give Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs) time to make selections without something else happening to the land and 2) to give the BLM time to assess which lands should be designated for specific public uses (e.g., hunting, recreation, habitat). These lands are referred to as ANCSA 17(d)(1) lands.
In public lands-speak, a prohibition on a certain land use is called a “withdrawal.” Withdrawals can be revoked individually while others are left in place, or all withdrawals can be revoked at once. The draft EIS analyzes the potential impacts of revoking withdrawals on up to nearly 28 million acres of the ANCSA 17(d)(1) lands.
East Alaska ANCSA 17(d)(1) lands under Alternative B. Green areas: withdrawals retained (status quo). Yellow areas: withdrawals partly revoked, enabling transfer to state ownership. Image created by the BLM.
Alternative A, the “no action” alternative, would maintain the status quo. Alternative B would revoke some withdrawals on 433,000 acres which the State of Alaska has identified as highly desirable for state ownership, and where other conflicts are identified as “minimized.” This land would become eligible to be conveyed to the state but not necessarily eligible for all other uses.
East Alaska ANCSA 17(d)(1) lands under Alternative C. Green areas: withdrawals retained (status quo). Yellow areas: withdrawals partly revoked, enabling transfer to state ownership. Orange outlined areas: withdrawals fully revoked. All withdrawals would be fully retained under Alternative A and fully revoked under Alternative D for all outlined parcels.
Alternative C would revoke all withdrawals on areas identified as having high mining potential -7,702,000 acres- and some withdrawals on another 361,000 acres. Alternative D would fully revoke all withdrawals on all acres considered.
The document points out that in the years since the original withdrawals were made, ANCs have selected 96% of the land they are entitled to. Furthermore, millions of acres of additional lands have already been selected from the pool of withdrawn lands for conservation under the Alaska National Interests Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA).
The communities of Glennallen, Gulkana, Slana, Mentasta Lake, Cantwell, Copper Center and Gakona were among the communities listed with “the most potential acres of federal subsistence priority loss.” Talkeetna, Trapper Creek, and Nome were also on the list.
Potential impacts of various alternatives on federal subsistence hunting. Table created by the BLM.
Federally qualified subsistence hunters would lose their priority for hunting on any land parcels that are conveyed to the state. Federally qualified subsistence hunters could also experience a lower abundance of animals on federal land due to increased hunting on nearby land newly conveyed to the state. There is also increased potential for other sources of mortality such as vehicle collisions in areas that see increased hunting or development. The draft EIS includes an assumption that road accessibility adds to competition between state and federal hunters.
The alternatives regarding these ANCSA 17(d)(1) lands would have a minimal impact on local land transfers related to the Dingell Act. Two of these include conveying land to Alaska Native Vietnam-era Veterans and amending the East Alaska Resource Management Plan to make land in Thompson Pass eligible for Land Exchange (with Chugach Alaska Corporation as the ultimate intended recipient.). I asked BLM media representative Gordon Claggett about these issues via email.
According to Claggett, the East Alaska Area Resource Management Plan has already been amended to make the “hairpin turn” lands eligible for land exchange. This would not be impacted by any of the proposed alternatives.
Regarding veteran land selection, Claggett stated, “Most of the lands in the evaluation area are already open to allotment selection under the Dingell Act. The areas within our evaluation area that have not been opened to allotment selection are 14h1 [cultural heritage] sites. Those areas would be opened under Alternative D and some in Alternative C and therefore also open to Dingell Act selection. We don’t have these areas mapped in the EIS because they are cultural resource sites. Relatively, it is not much acreage.”
The BLM ePlanning website contains the full text of the nearly 400 page EIS and an interactive map of the study area among other detailed documents. EIS project manager Rachael Jones can be reached at (907)290-0307.
According to the document, comments that will have the biggest impact will be specific, substantive, and will contain new information, describe potential inaccuracies in the current EIS draft, or identify new impacts not described in the current EIS. The commenter should include which portion of the EIS they are commenting on.
Local BLM Glennallen Field Manager Marnie Graham added, “As people comment, it’s really important for the BLM to hear which alternative resonates with someone and why, and which alternatives do not resonate and why.” She also advises commenters to be as specific as possible and describe how their opportunities, access, or uses could be impacted by each alternative, both positively and negatively.
The BLM also identifies how many comments are “unique,” which lessens the impact of comments submitted via form letter.
A final draft of the EIS is anticipated to be finished in the summer of 2024, and will likely include a “preferred alternative” selected by BLM staff with input from public comments. This will then go to the Secretary of the Interior and inform their decision as to how to proceed. The decision maker would presumably be current Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland if the decision is made this coming summer.
Public Comments are being accepted until February 14 on the project website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2018002/510
By mail at
BLM, Alaska State Office
Attn: ANCSA 17 (d)(1) Withdrawals EIS
222 West 7th Avenue, #13
Anchorage, Alaska 99513
Or on the comment hotline at (907)-921-5905
Disclosure: The Bureau of Land Management is a Copper River Record advertiser. This does not impact our coverage.