Comments from USFS
Forest Supervisor Thomas Puchlerz to Date: December 21, 1999 From United States Forest Service-Department of Agriculture To U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Alaska District Regulatory Branch (I
145b) Dear Mr. Duncan: Thank you for your letter of November 22, requesting comment on the
application by Alaska Cruises for use of floating docks in Rudyerd Bay,
in Misty Fiords National Monument. We appreciate the cooperative spirit
under which the State of Alaska, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and
Alaska Cruises have worked in evaluating this proposal. As upland land managers, we must point out that in our opinion, the
level of air traffic and the floating dock associated with Alaska
Cruises' proposal are not consistent with management direction under the
Wilderness Act, the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, and
the Tongass Land Management Plan. We request that beginning in 2000, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
the Alaska Department of Natural Resources and the Tongass National
Forest co-sponsor a collaborative planning effort among agencies, users,
and groups with an interest in Misty Fiords. The purpose of this effort
would be to evaluate opportunities for flight seeing, cruising, and
semi-permanent structures. If you find in the interim that you must approve the float at its
current location, we suggest that the approval be temporary, until
completion of the planning effort, and that use be capped at 1998 levels
as a permit condition. Our concerns about the proposal are based on the
following grounds: • Impacts of the fly/cruise operations associated with the dock on
the character of the Misty Fiords National Monument Wilderness,
including opportunities for solitude and primitive recreation, and
remoteness from the sights and sounds of humans. • Impacts of the
fly/cruise operations associated with the dock on other users of the
National Monument, including other commercial operators and their
clients, and the general public. We recommend that the Corps of Engineers, the Department of Natural
Resources, and Alaska Cruises consider alternative locations for the
floating dock and the flight-cruise operation, including sites outside
designated wilderness or outside the Monument altogether, and pledge our
cooperation toward this end. The Forest Service could support this type
of development at many other areas of the Ketchikan-Misty Fiords Ranger
District. Our interest in this matter is limited to the impacts of the
operation on the lands and users of the Misty Fiords National Monument
Wilderness. Questions of jurisdiction over submerged lands and waters are
better addressed elsewhere; we recognize and support the working
relationship between the State of Alaska and the Forest Service in
managing lands and waters along the coastal areas. We note that the
State of Alaska has traditionally taken a policy of denying permit
requests for structures such as houseboats on submerged lands adjacent
to conservation system units, and that this policy is reflected in the
current draft of the DNR's Central Southeast Area Plan. We also recognize that a portion of the Rudyerd float issue
represents a dispute among commercial operations (some of the parties
objecting to Alaska Cruises' application a-re themselves guides). We are
reluctant to insert ourselves into a free-market competition between
private enterprises, and we take no position for or against any
particular business concern. We have had long-standing positive working
relationships with all parties. Forest Service continents are limited to
our concerns with the effects of the dock and associated use on
resources for which we have stewardship responsibility. I have found that in cases like this one it is often useful to
articulate points of agreement. I believe all parties to the Rudyerd
float issue would agree that: Such goals should be established cooperatively in a public process,
including the various agencies with jurisdiction, users and businesses,
and interest groups. Thank you for the opportunity to comment on Alaska
Cruises application and we look forward to working with you in the
future on a collaborative planning effort for Misty Fiords National
Monument. Should you have any questions concerning these comments,
please contact Jerry Ingersoll, District Ranger of Ketchikan/Misty
Fiords District Ranger at 225-2148. Our detailed comments follow. Thomas Puchlerz Enclosure Comments on Rudyerd Bay Float Application I. The Misty Fiords National Monument Wilderness A. The Wilderness Act The Wilderness Act of 1964 (P.L. 88-577) establishes wilderness
areas: for the use and enjoyment of the American people in such manner
as will leave them unimpaired for future use and enjoyment as
wilderness, and so as to provide for the protection of these areas,
[and] the preservation of their wilderness character... (Sec. 2(a)) The Act goes on to state: A wilderness, in contrast with those areas
where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized
as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by
man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain (See. 2(c)). There shall be no commercial enterprise ... within any wilderness
area (Sec. 4(c)). Commercial services may be performed within the wilderness areas ...
to the extent necessary for activities which are proper for realizing
the recreational or other wilderness purposes of the areas (Sec.
4(d)(6)). B. ANIILCA The Misty Fiords National Monument Wilderness was designated through
the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) (P.L.
96-487). ANILCA directed the Forest Service to manage Misty Fiords to
"protect objects of ecological, cultural, geological, historical,
prehistorical, and scientific interest" (Sec. 503(c)). Among many
other specific provisions, ANILCA provides that: The Secretary shall
permit ... the use of snow machines, motorboats, airplanes, and
nonmotorized surface transportation methods for traditional
activities... Such use shall be subject to reasonable regulations by the
Secretary to protect the natural and other values of the conservation
system units ... and shall not be prohibited unless, after notice and
hearing in the vicinity of the affected unit or area, the Secretary
finds that such use would be detrimental to the resource values of this unit or area (Sect. I I I 0(a)). C. TLMP The Tongass National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (TLMP),
adopted after years of planning, scientific research, and public
involvement, establishes direction for management of the Tongass
National Forest, including the Misty Fiords National Monument
Wilderness. Across the Tongass as a whole, the Forest Service goal is
to: Provide a range of recreation opportunities consistent with public
demand, emphasizing locally popular recreation places and those
important to the tourism industry (page 2-3). The Tongass offers a variety of settings for different recreation
experiences, ranging from visitor centers in urban settings, through
remote roaded and unroaded opportunities, to wilderness, which is
intended to provide the most primitive and undeveloped experiences Goals
for national monument wilderness include: To manage the Wilderness portions of ..Misty Fiords National Monument
to maintain an enduring wilderness resource while providing for public
access and uses... To protect and perpetuate natural biophysical and
ecological conditions and processes. To provide a high degree of
remoteness from the sights and sounds of humans, and opportunities for
solitude and primitive recreation activities consistent with wilderness
preservation (page 3-23). D. Flight seeing and Other Commercial Tourism Operations Since long before its establishment as a national monument in 1978,
Alaskans have used float planes to access Misty Fiords. Airplanes
provide public access to Forest Service recreation cabins at remote
lakes, allow Forest Service administrative use, and provide access for
hunters and anglers visiting the backcountry. Motorboats have long been
used both to access the Misty Fiords coastline and for fishing and
recreation on freshwater lakes. Such uses are appropriate under ANELCA. In the past decade, the rise of cruise ship tourism has dramatically
increased visitation and led to the growth of the flight seeing industry.
Most of Misty Fiords remains primitive and remote, Rudyerd Bay,
Punchbowl Cove, Big Goat Lake, and the flight corridors to and from
Ketchikan are often busy with the buzz of traffic. A nice summer day
might find more than fifty low-attitude over flights, twenty airplane
takeoffs or landings, several smaller cruise ships and power boats, and
a group of kayakers within the confines of the fjord. The Alaska Cruises
operation represents a large fraction of this use, which has grown up
since passage of ANILCA, and in part as a result of designation of the
Misty Fiords National Monument. This increase in use has brought the wonders of Misty Fiords to more
Americans, who continue to find it a highlight of their visit to Alaska.
At the same time, use -- and particularly aircraft us -- has increased
to the point that some visitors are finding their experience diminished.
All parties recognize that summer days within Rudyerd Bay do not always
"provide a high degree of remoteness from the sights and sounds of
humans." This situation has come about, not through design, but
through unmanaged use. II. The Floating Docks A. The Docks Themselves Since 1992, Mr. Dale Pihlman has maintained floating docks more or
less continuously in Rudyerd Bay. The actual physical docks have been replaced over the years, and have changed in size, purpose, and design.
The float in upper Rudyerd Bay began as a 15' x 15' platform for
transfers from boat to kayak. The current U-shaped float measures I 00'
x 75' at its longest dimensions, and beginning in 1999 has served the
90-passenger Majestic Fjord as a transfer point for float planes. These
are movable but not temporary structures, and have not typically been
removed during the winter months (they were removed this winter). Winter
storms have sometimes broken the docks free; the wreckage of one dock
littered the beach at upper Rudyerd Bay for several years. B. The Operators Mr. Pihlman and the Forest Service have maintained a positive working
relationship over many years, dating back to the designation of Misty
Fiords National Monument. Goldbelt's involvement with the Alaska Cruises
operation is more recent, but as a diversified ANCSA Native Corporation,
Goldbelt has worked cooperatively with the Forest Service on a wide
variety of projects throughout Southeast Alaska. These are well-run
businesses and responsible operators who provide a lasting, memorable
experience for their customers, and contribute to the economy of
Southeast Alaska. C. Permits Neither the floating docks, nor the flight seeing operation, nor the
Majestic Fjord itself involve direct contact with the uplands of the
Misty Fiords National Monument. Passengers remain on the boat, the
planes, and the dock, and do not set foot on the land or any freshwater
lake at any point in their visit. Therefore, a Forest Service permit has
not been required, and TLMP's limitations on commercial users in
wilderness (e.g., no more than twelve people in a party; no more than
3-6 landings per site per day) have not been applied. Since many other
commercial users of the area are under Forest Service permit, this can
appear to create a double standard -- a different set of rules for
different groups within the same small fiord. The floating docks occupy navigable waters within the jurisdiction of
the US. Army Corps of Engineers, and are anchored to submerged lands
administered by the State of Alaska Department .of Natural Resources.
Both agencies require a- permit prior to approving permanent floating
structures. Traditionally, the State, in cooperation with the Forest
Service has declined to issue permits for floating commercial facilities
adjacent to wilderness areas. The Rudyerd floats have never been permitted, and no permit was
requested until this summer (1999). The rationale for the delayed permit
application was that the operator assumed that as a
"temporary" structure, no permit was required. However,
temporary floating structures are deemed as those that do not remain in
place longer than 14 days. The Rudyerd floats have been in place for
seven years. III. Impacts on Wilderness A. Wilderness Character Apart from any direct impacts to the plants, animals, and ecosystems
of Misty Fiords, the air and boat traffic within Rudyerd Bay associated
with the floating docks affect the character of the wilderness resource
under our care. A wilderness is "an area of undeveloped Federal
land retaining its primeval character and influence, without permanent
improvements or human habitation, which is protected and managed so as
to preserve its natural conditions and which ... has outstanding
opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of
recreation" (Wilderness Act, Sec. 2(c)). Both the intensity of use associated with Alaska Cruises' operation
and the dock itself tend to reduce the wilderness character and solitude
of Rudyerd Bay, and promote a more comfortable and developed, and less
primitive and unconfined type of recreation. The same can be said of
other uses and users, but the Alaska Cruises operation is the largest,
and involves the greatest number of regular airplane landings within
Misty Fiords. The dock is not obtrusive, or even highly visible, but it
does represent a permanent improvement, and evidence of human works. The
dock, the Alaska Cruises operation, and the current level of use in
Rudyerd Bay represent a conflict with established goals for management
of Misty Fiords Wilderness. B. Wildlife and Direct Biological Effects One of the most attractive features of Misty Fiords is the
opportunity to encounter and observe wildlife from the land, air, and
water. Brown bears, mountain goats, harbor seals, porpoises, orcas,
otters, and a wide variety of birds are seen regularly in Rudyerd Bay.
Low-flying aircraft, approaching boats, and even kayaks are known to
disturb or temporarily displace animals, and high levels of use will
cause some animals to avoid the area entirely. Harassment can lead to
individual cases of mortality (e.g., a very close approach by an
airplane leads a mountain goat to lose its footing and fall to its
death; the approach of a boat to a seal haul-out leads pups to enter the
water when orcas are nearby). However, evidence of direct effects to
wildlife is primarily anecdotal, and no local studies have been
conducted. We consider it highly likely that the current levels of use in
Rudyerd Bay affect local wildlife in complex, but mostly negative, ways.
At the same time, we seriously doubt that use has any significant effect
on the viability of populations over the broader landscape of Misty
Fiords. The dock itself has no effect. IV. Impacts on Other Users The floating docks and the Alaska Cruises operation are located in
the heart of the most popular destination in Misty Fiords. Cruise ships,
pleasure boats, kayaks, and float planes, both private and commercial,
pass each other within the narrow confines of the @ord. Most Rudyerd Bay
visitors take advantage of commercial services like those provided by
Alaska Cruises and its competitors, but many do not. As Alaska Cruises
has expanded its operation, the Forest Service has began to receive
complaints from other users, who find their experience diminished by the
large number of aircraft landing and taking off from the float in a
concentrated period. We also hear from groups and individuals who now
avoid Rudyerd Bay in search of a more primitive, less crowded wilderness
experience. Through its location at the head of Rudyerd Bay, the Alaska Cruises
operation tends to monopolize the most popular site in Misty Fiords, to
the detriment of other users and commercial operations. By any
reckoning, there is a limited capacity for such floats and operations in
such a narrow fjord. Even if such an operation were appropriate,
competing operators would maintain that it should not be awarded to any
particular firm on the basis of recent, un-permitted use. The Forest Service provides a wide range of recreational experiences
for the diverse needs and tastes of the American people, including
developed (e.g., ski areas, visitor centers, campgrounds) and
semi-primitive (e.g., all terrain vehicle or mountain bike trails)
areas. Wildernesses are designated to represent the most primitive and
undeveloped end of the scale The capacity of an area to accommodate
recreational use depends, not only on the physical and biological
setting, but on the type and level of recreational experience desired.
The operation associated with the floating dock at Rudyerd Bay, and its
expansion over the years, reflects the general trend of this area toward
a more developed recreation experience and away from the intent of the
Wilderness Act. V. Principles We suggest the following two principles guide consideration of Alaska
Cruises' permit request: Balance -- Wilderness is preserved to limit human impacts and provide
solitude. In the wide variety of recreational opportunities on the
Tongass, wilderness represents the most primitive end of the spectrum.
But wilderness is also set aside for public use and enjoyment. On areas
of multiple jurisdictions at the edge of wilderness, the picture is most
complicated. A sound interagency approach would balance the need to
provide public access to Misty Fiords with the need to protect the
wilderness resource that the public comes to visit. Fairness -- A wide variety of commercial businesses provide services
in Misty Fiords. They should receive equal and fair treatment from the
variety of government agencies they must deal with, and be subject to
reasonable rules and regulations. Use in violation of these guidelines
should involve reasonable consequences, and should not be rewarded. VI. Alternatives We suggest that Alaska Cruises, the Corps of Engineers, and the
Department of Natural Resources consider possible alternative locations
for flight-cruise operations which might minimize or avoid impacts to
wilderness. We pledge our cooperation in identifying appropriate
locations outside wilderness. VII. Conclusion The operation at Rudyerd Bay is not consistent with goals established
under the Wilderness Act, ANMCA, and TLMP. While we support public
access and enjoyment of Misty Fiords, and continuation of traditional
uses, we are also concerned with the precedent this permit could
establish for other uses and users of submerged lands which would be
inconsistent with wilderness management principles. A comprehensive,
open, and public collaborative planning effort is urgently needed to
settle such questions, and to provide a template for future use of the
Misty Fiords National Monument in ways which will ensure that the
wilderness resource is preserved. We look forward to getting planning
underway, and to working with you closely during that process. |
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