FORT WAINWRIGHT, YUKON MANEUVER AREA, PROPOSED RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN AND FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT, FAIRBANKS NORTH STAR BOROUGH, ALASKA
Dates
Year
1994
Citation
U. S. Deptartment of Defense,, and Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management,, 1994, FORT WAINWRIGHT, YUKON MANEUVER AREA, PROPOSED RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN AND FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT, FAIRBANKS NORTH STAR BOROUGH, ALASKA: Department of Defense, Department of the Army 6th Infantry Division (Light), Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management: Anchorage, Alaska, v. Final Environmental Impact Statement; Agency number: BLM/AK/PT/94/011+1600+080; EPA number: 940001F, 124 pages.
Summary
PURPOSE: The implementation of a management plan is proposed in order to address military uses, economic development, recreation, wildlife habitat, and access in association with the use of the Fort Wainwright Maneuver Area in Alaska. The maneuver area, commonly known as the Yukon Maneuver Area, is a tract of approximately 248,000 acres in the Fairbanks North Star Borough southeast of the city of Fairbanks. It is roughly rectangular in shape, spanning 28 miles east-to-west and 17.5 miles north-to- south; it encompasses much of the land between the Chena and Salcha rivers northeast of the Richardson Highway. Tributaries of the two rivers flow through the area at the bases of 2,000-foot hills, which predominate all but the extreme western [...]
Summary
PURPOSE: The implementation of a management plan is proposed in order to address military uses, economic development, recreation, wildlife habitat, and access in association with the use of the Fort Wainwright Maneuver Area in Alaska. The maneuver area, commonly known as the Yukon Maneuver Area, is a tract of approximately 248,000 acres in the Fairbanks North Star Borough southeast of the city of Fairbanks. It is roughly rectangular in shape, spanning 28 miles east-to-west and 17.5 miles north-to- south; it encompasses much of the land between the Chena and Salcha rivers northeast of the Richardson Highway. Tributaries of the two rivers flow through the area at the bases of 2,000-foot hills, which predominate all but the extreme western portion of the maneuver area. Entrance into the withdrawn lands from the Richardson Highway can be gained through the main gate of Eielson Air Force Base and via Johnson Road. Military facilities within the withdrawn areas include firing ranges, impact areas, landing strips, and training and maneuver areas. The area to be withdrawn would be closed to mineral entry and leasing. Five alternatives, including a No Action Alternative, are considered in this final EIS. Under the proposed plan, which is a modification of the draft EIS's preferred alternative, public access would be allowed to the lands for recreational purposes provided that permission is obtained from the Army at Fort Wainwright. Nonmilitary uses of road and off-road vehicles would be allowed in certain locations. The Army would undertake efforts to improve the fort's vegetation, develop a habitat management plan, and, in consultation with the Bureau of Land Management, develop a forest plan, a cultural resources management plan, and a fire management plan. POSITIVE IMPACTS: Under the proposed plan, the continued use of, and the expansion of the military uses of, the withdrawn areas would be assured. Valuable habitat, vegetative cover, water resources, soil resources, and local socioeconomic uses would be protected. NEGATIVE IMPACTS: Besides the effects of the military activities for which the land has been withdrawn and that are beyond the scope of this plan, other unavoidable adverse impacts would result from the implementation of the management scheme under the proposed plan. Off-road vehicle use would crush some vegetation, primarily in areas near the road network; in particularly high use areas, off- road vehicle use would also disturb soils. Some soil would erode and sediment would be transported into streams and lakes. Vegetative resources in many areas could remain damaged for decades. Surface disturbances, such as timber harvesting, road construction, recreation facility construction, and mining, would destroy or adversely alter visual and cultural resources. LEGAL MANDATES: Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) and Military Lands Withdrawal Act of 1986 (P.L. 99-606). PRIOR REFERENCES: For the abstract of the draft EIS, see 88-0292D, Volume 12, Number 5.
