Forest Service Plans Multi-Year Helicopter Invasion
In Alaska Wilderness

The Tongass National Forest is proposing nearly 1100 helicopter landings in Wilderness over a 10-year period to inventory vegetation.  This proposal would affect all national forest Wilderness in Alaska plus the 2-million acre Nellie Juan-College Fjord Wilderness Study Area. No other national forest in the country uses helicopters to access vegetation inventory plots in Wilderness!  Moreover, the inventories serve no Wilderness protection purpose.

The Forest Service (USFS) has a national Forest Inventory and Analysis program (FIA) which inventories forestedlands across the country, including in Wilderness. Outside Alaska, all Wilderness inventory plots are accessed by foot, packstock, or muscle-powered watercraft. 

In Alaska the USFS wants to inventory 913 plots in Wilderness, and access 540 (60 percent) of those via helicopter.  Each plot would require two helicopter landings -- one to drop off the crew, and one to pick them up at the end of the day. 

More than 40 percent of the plots slated for helicopter access are not even part of the FIA program.  They are non-forested, high elevation 'add-on' plots that the regional forester for Alaska has asked FIA to inventory because: 1) there is money available; and 2) the data might show vegetation changes due to global warming.

This regional forester approved this same proposal (minus the add-on plots) in 1996, but the Forest Service Chief overturned his decision on appeal.  It's time to say "No" again to this unnecessary motorized invasion!

ACT NOW! Please comment in writing. Your comments must be received by August 7, 2006.

E-Mail Comments:   comments-alaska-regional-office@fs.fed.us

Mail Comments:           
USDA Forest Service, Alaska Regional Office
Ecosystem Planning Staff
Attn:  FIA Helicopters in Wilderness EIS
PO Box 21628
Juneau, AK  99802-1628

SUGGESTED COMMENT POINTS:

1. No helicopters should be allowed for inventorying vegetation in Wilderness.  The USFS is not required to inventory plots which are inaccessible by foot, floatplane or watercraft in Alaska.

1. The collected data is unrelated to managing and preserving the wilderness character of these areas and therefore helicopter access cannot be justified simply to collect data.
   
   
2. The non-forested 'add-on' plots should be dropped from the inventory unless accessed by foot.  The EIS failed to analyze this alternative.
   

1. Support Alternative 1, the no helicopter alternative, and eliminate any inventory plots that would require low-level helicopter reconnaissance overflights to guide ground crews to the plots.