BLM-Alaska to delay amendment to the Ring of Fire Resource Management Plan

Glacier Bay National Park (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Bureau of Land Management is announcing a delay in the Haines Planning Area Amendment to the Ring of Fire Resource Management Plan. 

 

New scientific information related to mountain goats in the Haines area as well as an increased awareness of Alaska Native cultural values relating to these goat populations has prompted BLM to identify a new proposed alternative for a mountain goat habitat Area of Critical Environmental Concern for portions of the planning area.

 

A final decision on the amendment was expected in early 2014. However, developing a new alternative for public review and comment is expected to delay the amendment for at least a year. 

 

“The BLM is dedicated to ensuring that the most recent scientific findings and cultural information are incorporated into planning efforts,” said Anchorage Field Office Manager Alan Bittner,

 

The Planning Area is located in Southeast Alaska.  Approximately 320,000 acres of BLM-managed public lands are located in two main blocks or parcels; the north block is located northwest of Skagway along the United States-Canada border and the south block is located southwest of the City of Haines along the boundary of Glacier Bay National Park.  The planning area encompasses the cities of Haines and Skagway.

BLM-Alaska Announces the Delta River Special Recreation Management Area Approved Plan

Glennallen, Alaska – The Bureau of Land Management in Alaska is pleased to release the Finding of No Significant Impact, Decision Record (DR) and Approved Plan for the Delta River Special Recreation Management Area (SRMA) and East Alaska Resource Management Plan Amendment (Approved Plan). This document will provide guidance for the recreational management of the Delta River SRMA for the next 15-20 years.

 

The Approved Plan is designed to provide for a mix of river recreation uses and users, while managing to protect the environment and Outstandingly Remarkable Values (ORV). It maintains a setting that supports diverse recreational opportunities; integrates resource protection with an appropriate range of visitor uses; contributes economically to local communities; provides multi-resource standards and direction found in other legislation, policies, or management plans designed to comply with applicable state and federal laws; and provides protection of the river’s scenic, cultural, wildlife, fisheries, and recreational ORVs.

 

The plan should minimize social conflicts and protect river resources through management direction that provides a strong emphasis in education and interpretive outreach. It calls for the establishment of adaptive management standards that are based on river user tolerances for different impacts. Monitoring and non-compliance with standards will drive implementation of management actions; in most cases, less-restrictive measures will be implemented prior to more-restrictive actions.

 

Bud Cribley, BLM-Alaska State Director commented, “I am especially pleased and grateful for all the participating stakeholders and general public who came together for this 7 year planning process. They opened up for consideration all the known issues, competing interests, opinions, and values of the public for inclusion in this plan.”

 

Copies of the Delta River SRMA Decision Record, Finding of No Significant Impact, and Approved Plan are available for viewing on the BLM Alaska Planning website at: http://www.blm.gov/ak/st/en/prog/planning.html. For members of the public that lack computer access, contact the BLM Glennallen Field Office by calling (907) 822-3217.
To view the Federal Register Notice, Click here:  https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/07/01/2013-15681/notice-of-availability-of-the-decision-record-for-the-delta-river-special-recreation-management-area

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BLM, Tribes Continue Dialogue on Hydraulic Fracturing Rule

Building on the eight outreach sessions held last year with Tribal communities and the 22 formal one-one-one tribal consultations, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has scheduled two additional regional outreach meetings with Tribal representatives to discuss how the Bureau’s proposed hydraulic fracturing rule would strengthen oil and gas operations on Indian trust lands.

The announcement of the meetings – planned for June 18 in Dickinson, ND, and June 20 in Farmington, NM – comes in conjunction with the publication of a revised proposed rule on hydraulic fracturing on public and Indian lands on May 24 in Federal Register.

Following the release of an initial draft proposal in 2012, Interior received extensive feedback, including over 177,000 public comments as well as suggestions from Indian tribes that helped inform the updated draft proposal.  The new proposal maintains important safety standards, improves integration with existing state and tribal standards, and increases flexibility for oil and gas operators.  The updated draft proposal is subject to a new 90-day public comment period, which ends on August 23, 2013.

“For more than a year, the BLM and many Indian tribes have engaged in a dialogue – both through regional meetings and government-to-government consultation – in which many clear and valid points were made about what a hydraulic fracturing rule needs to do,” said BLM Principal Deputy Director Neil Kornze.

“We believe the revised rule enables us to meet our trust responsibilities for oil and gas development on Indian lands, while recognizing issues such as sovereignty, economic development, and water rights,” Kornze said.

The Indian Mineral Leasing Act authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, who oversees the BLM, to administer the oil and gas leasing program under regulations specific to Indian trust lands, in an effort to provide the same protections to these lands that are accorded to public lands.

Last year, the BLM held eight separate outreach sessions for Tribal communities in addition to 22 formal one-to-one Tribal consultations.

At this year’s regional meetings, BLM staff will present background information regarding hydraulic fracturing, explain the current provisions of the rule, and how it was revised to address tribal concerns.   The program will also include time to answer questions and take suggestions.

The revised rule supports the Obama Administration’s all-of-the-above commitment and approach to American energy by expanding domestic oil and gas production in order to further American energy self-reliance, while remaining focused on ensuring safe and responsible development on public and Indian lands.

Approximately 90 percent of wells drilled on Federal and Indian lands use hydraulic fracturing, but the BLM’s current regulations governing hydraulic fracturing operations on public and Indian lands are more than 30 years old and were not written to address modern hydraulic fracturing activities. The revised proposed rule will modernize BLM’s management of hydraulic fracturing operations, and help to establish baseline environmental safeguards for these operations across all public and Indian lands.

The updated draft proposal maintains the three main components of the initial proposal: requiring operators to disclose the chemicals they use in fracturing activities on public lands; improving assurances of well-bore integrity to verify that fluids used during fracturing operations are not contaminating groundwater; and confirming that oil and gas operators have a water management plan in place for handling fluids that flow back to the surface.

Representatives of tribes with interests in oil and gas development are invited to attend one of the following two meetings:

– June 18, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Ramada Grand Dakota Lodge and Conference Center, 532 15th Street West, Dickinson, ND, 58601. Reservations: 800-422-0949 (a limited number of rooms at a conference rate are available).

– June 20, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

San Juan Community College, Computer Science Building Lecture Hall, 4601 College Blvd., Farmington, NM, 87402. Information: Patrick Papich, BLM Farmington Field Office, 505-320-5161.

Anchorage teens find more than just a summer job on public lands

When Alex Zimmerman was young, she loved the outdoors and told people she

Courtesy USFS

wanted to be a “bug scientist” when she grew up. But her career plans really began to take shape last year when she was accepted into Youth Employment in Parks (YEP), a program of the Anchorage Parks and Recreation Department and the Anchorage Park Foundation that provides a meaningful "first job" experience and career pathway for youth to work in the outdoors and natural resources fields.
“I started to know where I wanted to go,” she said. “I want to become a park ranger.” But it was hard to find a job after YEP. “Eventually I got a job as a house cleaner and I thought, what am I going to do with the rest of my life?” Alex remembers.

Now, thanks to a partnership between the Student Conservation Association (SCA), the Municipality of Anchorage, the Anchorage Park Foundation, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and Chugach National Forest, Alex at least knows what her immediate next step looks like.

Alex and four other alumni from YEP were selected for a new summer conservation crew experience sponsored by the five partners and led by seasoned SCA staff. The crew, made up of participants ages 17-20, will take part in a ten week work experience on municipal and federal public lands. Starting this week they’ll work for the BLM at Campbell Track helping to clear hazard trees from popular recreation trails. In mid-June they’ll work on city lands. And from July 6th to August 3rd they’ll have their most remote experience working alongside a Forest Service trail crew at the Spencer Whistle Stop on the Chugach National Forest.

When she got the phone call letting her know she had been selected, Alex said, “I felt like something was lifted off my shoulders.”

It was made possible in part by a nearly $40,000 cost-share grant from the US Forest Service. The award was announced on May 9th by US Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell as part of a $772,820 package of More Kids in the Woods and Children’s Forest grants in 16 states and the U.S Virgin Islands. Local partners added an additional $65,000 match to the grant.

Amanda Smith, head of partnership development for the Alaska Region of SCA said, "Youth are motivated and starved to find work opportunities. A strong group of partners worked together to build a career pathway for youth who are already interested and experienced in natural resource management, but have limited options for their next resource management job. It's nice to see these efforts recognized with Forest Service funding."

Added Smith, "The youth will experience some of Alaska's most visited public lands and feel the benefits of hard work and commitment."

For Beth Nordlund, Executive Director of the Anchorage Park Foundation, that was one the primary reasons to partner. “We want to give YEP returning teens experience in public lands outside of Anchorage. They have worked in urban parks for a summer, and now they’re working on spike crews, in some cases in the backcountry. So it’s a very different experience. We’re excited to give kids a sense of stewardship and ownership of their federal public lands.”

Getting outside of Anchorage is something that appeals to the participants, as well. Crew member Shawna Strain grew up in Southeast Alaska where, “we were out in the woods, building forts all the time. When I moved to Anchorage I wasn’t doing that anymore. The city seemed so big compared to where I came from.”

Inspiring youth to check out the city’s neighboring public lands has been a focus for the Chugach National Forest for many years, and in 2008 Forest leaders bolstered this commitment by launching the Chugach Children’s Forest with non-profit partner Alaska Geographic. Since then, over 20,000 youth, volunteers and educators have been engaged in outdoor education programming, career opportunities, stewardship expeditions and volunteer outings as part of the initiative.

“People come from all over the world to experience the Chugach National Forest and Alaska’s public lands, yet young people from many Anchorage neighborhoods have never set foot in the Forest,” Terri Marceron, Forest Supervisor on the Chugach National Forest said. “One of our goals is to simply get youth outdoors learning about natural resource work and having fun. We need their ideas and leadership to help solve the challenges of today and tomorrow –from climate change to maintaining our trails and recreation opportunities for the public. These are our future land stewards.”

That message speaks to the crew members who embrace the responsibility that comes with the new opportunity. “Everything isn’t set up for us this summer. We’re learning what it takes to get the project and work done, and how to run everything,” Shawna said. “We have more leadership, like college.”

And the work is unique in another way, Alex said. “It’s more of a learning experience than anything, and that’s what I want from a job. I love that about being outside because you can always learn something new.”

BLM Alaska News

Nominations for Resources Advisory Council

BLM is accepting applications for its Resources Advisory Council through the date of April 29th. The applications were originally due at an earlier date.

Call the BLM at 271-3335 to request an application/nomination packet or visit our web site at http://www.blm.gov/ak/st/en/res/rac.html   (select “2013 Nomination Form/Information”) for a fillable/printable form.

BLM

BLM Assisting Army Corp of Engineers with Prescribed Burns

In a joint effort with the Army Corp of Engineers, BLM Fire Control personnel will assist in the Chena Lakes Flood Control Project area.  Burns will be conducted through June 1.

Alaska Fire Service Smokejumpers Receive National Recognition

Two veterans of the Bureau of Land Management Alaska Fire Service have been recognized for their outstanding accomplishments last year. Those accomplishments included working together to initiate a new combined training for first-year smokejumpers in Idaho and Alaska.

Chris Swisher of Fairbanks and Ben Oakleaf of Boise, Idaho, were named winners of the 2013 “Al Dunton Smokejumper Leadership Award,” which recognizes outstanding accomplishments of BLM and Forest Service smokejumper personnel. 

Swisher and Oakleaf were nominated for their work combining first-year smokejumper training for Alaska and Great Basin rookie smokejumpers. Combined rookie training was conducted in the past but for a dozen years, the Alaska and Great Basin rookie jumpers trained separately.  The 2012 training was a huge success, and is planned again this year.  Training together provides added value for the jumpers, including developing familiarity with firefighters that are likely to work together on fires. 

“The more we know each other and about each other, the more seamless it is when we integrate the crews,” says Oakleaf.   

Oakleaf and Swisher started their careers together on the Midnight Sun Interagency Hotshot Crew with the BLM Alaska Fire Service and have been good friends for over a decade.  Their supervisors describe the two as having a great work ethic and outstanding attitudes.  Swisher jumps out of Fort Wainwright, Alaska and Oakleaf, a Great Basin smokejumper, is based in Boise, Idaho.

“It [The award] was a surprise,” says Swisher, “I didn’t know anything about it until I was told that I won.” Oakleaf added, “I didn’t even know I was nominated until the jumper manager called me into his office and told me. I was very surprised.”

The award is named after Al Dunton, who served as a rookie smokejumper in Fairbanks in 1967.  He managed the smokejumper base there from 1972 through 1984 and remained active in fire management throughout his career.  The award was established by the interagency smokejumper base managers and the National Smokejumper Association, with the support of Al Dunton’s wife, Mary, and other family members.

BLM to Premiere New Film at Arctic Interagency Visitor Center in Coldfoot

Arctic Ice Bergs (Photo credit: Polar Cruises)

FAIRBANKS, Alaska — The Bureau of Land Management will celebrate the release of a new film, Arctic Visions & Voices, with a reception and screening at 7 p.m. on the summer solstice, June 21, 2012, at the Arctic Interagency Visitor Center in Coldfoot.

Inspired by the unique environments and people of northern Alaska, the 15-minute film was produced by Post Modern Company of Denver, Colorado, for viewing in the visitor center’s auditorium. The film’s release puts the final touch on the award-winning visitor center, which first opened to the public on the summer solstice in 2004.

Arctic Visions & Voices shows the starkly beautiful and sometimes ferocious arctic environment and the different ways people value the area. It entices viewers to go out and explore further – to touch the tundra, listen to the songbirds, and dip their toes in the Arctic Ocean. Featured in the film are a highway equipment operator, a truck stop manager, a permafrost scientist, local residents, wildlife biologists, visitors, backcountry guides and the spectacular landscape itself.

The film, like the visitor center for which it was made, is the result of a long-standing, cooperative effort between the BLM, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

The Arctic Interagency Visitor Center is open in summer from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. For more information, call 907-678-5209 or visit the BLM’s Dalton Highway website at www.blm.gov/ak/dalton.

Active Duty U.S. Military Offered Free Entrance to All National Parks

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

To show our appreciation for those who serve in the U.S. Military, on Saturday, May 19 - Armed Forces Day - the National Park Service will begin issuing an annual pass offering free entrance to all 397 national parks for active duty military members and their dependents.

"We all owe a debt to those who sacrifice so much to protect our country," said National Park Service Alaska Regional Director Sue Masica. "We are proud to recognize these brave men and women and hope that a visit to a national park will offer an opportunity to unwind, relax, rejuvenate, and just have fun with their families."

In Alaska, only Denali National Park and Preserve charges an entrance fee ($10 per person, ages 16 and older). The fee provides the visitor with an entrance permit valid for seven days. Several other national parks in Alaska have fees associated with particular amenities, such as camping, but these are not covered by the military pass. Denali NP visitors reserving shuttle bus seats online should look for instructions on how the fee waiver will be applied.

Active duty members of the U.S. Military and their dependents can pick up their pass at Denali National Park, at the park's ranger station in Talkeetna, or at the Alaska Public Lands information Center in Anchorage or Fairbanks. They must show a current, valid military identification card to obtain their pass. More information is available at www.nps.gov/findapark/passes.htm. The pass can also be obtained at any national park which charges an entrance fee. A list of national parks with entrance fees in the Lower 48 is available at http://www.nps.gov/findapark/feefreeparksbystate.htm.

This military version of the America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass also permits free entrance to sites managed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the U.S. Forest Service. The pass is also available at those locations.

"Through the years, military members, especially those far from home in times of conflict, have found inspiration in America's patriotic icons and majestic landscapes, places like the Statue of Liberty and the Grand Canyon that are cared for by the National Park Service and symbolize the nation that their sacrifices protect," said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. "This new pass is a way to thank military members and their families for their service and their sacrifices."

National parks and the military have strong ties going back to the establishment of Yellowstone as the world's first national park in 1872. The U.S. Cavalry watched over America's national parks and did double duty, serving as the first park rangers until the National Park Service was created 44 years later. During World War II, many parks (including Denali) were set aside for the training and care of military personnel. Today, dozens of national parks commemorate military battles and achievements.

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BLM-Alaska Resource Advisory Council meets in Fairbanks

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Anchorage -- The Bureau of Land Management's Alaska Resource Advisory Council will meet Nov. 29 and 30 in Fairbanks at the Fairbanks Princess Riverside Lodge, 4477 Pikes Landing Road. The meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 29th and will recess at 4:30 p.m. The Council will accept public comment from 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 29. Written comments are also welcome. On Nov. 30, the meeting begins at 9:00 a.m. and will adjourn at 3:30 p.m. The council’s agenda includes invasive weeds program, commercial activity policy (cabins/temporary facilities), land use plan updates, NPR-A oil and gas lease sale, land conveyance report and other topics of interest to the RAC.

For additional information, please go to: http://www.blm.gov/ak. 

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Let's Move Outside on National Public Lands Day!

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ANCHORAGE – The BLM Campbell Creek Science Center and MOA Anchorage Parks and Recreation say, “Let’s Move Outside” on National Public Lands Day, Saturday, September 24, 2011.

This theme is tied to the First Lady’s “Let’s Move!” campaign, an effort to raise healthier kids (see www.letsmove.gov/ and www.letsmove.gov/letsmoveoutside.php). Fall is a great time to get out, move around, and spruce up your favorite parcel of public land!

Trail Volunteer Projects 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. 

• Meet at the BLM Campbell Creek Science Center, off 68^th Ave & Elmore Road.
• Wear warm clothes, boots, and gloves.
• Register from 8:30 – 9 a.m.
• Trail projects run 9 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
• Free pizza lunch at the Science Center for all volunteers at 12:30 p.m.
• Singletrack Advocates: meet at the Kincaid lower parking lot near the scoreboard. Work on the Kincaid Singletrack will take place from 9 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
• Trail Watch NPLD project: Check in is at the Albrecht Ball Fields Parking Lot at 8:30 a.m. They will trail brush Old Rondy Trail from 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

 Campbell Creek Science Center Open House 1:30 – 4:30 p.m.

Join us for an afternoon of fun “moving” activities, live music, and refreshments during the Science Center’s Annual Open House.  Try rock climbing, knot tying, disc golf, gold panning, backyard games and more.  Don’t forget to pick up your free copy of the Science Center’s new poster calendar!

BLM-Alaska Releases Draft Determination of NEPA Adequacy and Map for the NPR-A Lease Sale

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Anchorage—The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released a draft Determination of NEPA Adequacy (DNA) to document the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance and a map of available tracts for the upcoming NPR-A Oil and Gas Lease Sale.  The draft determination and map link will be posted to the BLM-Alaska website at http://www.blm.gov/ak. 

On June 21, 2011, the BLM published a Call for Nominations and Comments in the Federal Register.  The notice included all lands in the Northeast and Northwest NPR-A planning areas that were not currently leased or deferred from leasing.  The Call for Nominations and Comment period ended July 21, 2011. 

In selecting tracts, the BLM evaluated the information received and considered natural resource information, multiple-use conflicts, resource potential, industry interest, and subsistence values.

BLM will submit the Notice of Sale to publish in the Federal Register at least 30 days prior to the sale, scheduled for late this year.  This will be the seventh oil and gas lease sale since 1999.

The lease sale is being conducted in response to President Barack Obama’s May 14, 2011, announcement directing the Department of the Interior to conduct annual oil and gas lease sales in the NPR-A. 

The public may comment on the draft DNA by sending comments to: NPR-A Draft DNA Lease Sale Comment; Attn: Jim Ducker; 222 W. 7th Ave. Ste. 13; Anchorage, Alaska, 99513-7504 or through the BLM-Alaska website. Comments must be received by October 21, 2011. Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment – including your personal identifying information – may be made publicly available at any time.  While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.