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Alaska Resource Advisory Council

Meeting Summary

Anchorage Federal Building
Denali Room, Anchorage, AK

October 15, 2002

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Tuesday, October 15, 2002

Council members present:	BLM representatives present:
Charlie Boddy	Henri Bisson, State Director
Tom Crafford	Gene Terland, Acting Associate State Director
Gary "Gus" Gustafson, Chair	Bob Schneider, Northern Field Manager
Larry Houle	Peter Ditton, Anchorage Field Manager
Susan Olsen	Nolan Heath, Resources
Jim Posey	Mike Haskins, Resources
Steve Simmons	Linda Resseguie, Resources
Rick Solie, Jr.	Susan Lavin, Resources
John Stroud	Jody Weil, External Affairs
Larry Taylor	Teresa McPherson, External Affairs (recorder)
David van den Berg, vice chair

Council members absent:	Other:
Sandra Key	Cam Toohey, Office of the Secretary
Paul Roehl	Bob Loeffler, Director, DNR Division of Mining, Land & Water

The chair called the meeting to order at 8 a.m.

The chair welcomed everyone and opened the meeting with a safety moment. Following brief introductions, the chair thanked Fairbanks council members for taking an early flight to allow an early start for the meeting. The council reviewed and approved the agenda.

The chair then called for a vote on the July 28-30, 2002, field tour minutes. Larry Taylor said he had no problem with the minutes, but still had concerns that his questions about the Tangle Lakes Archaeological District were not answered during the field tour. He thanked Henri Bisson for the written information provided the previous week, which he said answered most of his questions, but said it would be helpful to have this information prior to meetings in the future.

Taylor said he was still unsure of the significance of the artifacts from the Tangle Lakes area and read from a list of concerns he had prepared. The chair suggested BLM make copies of Taylor's written statement for RAC discussion later in the meeting.

Henri Bisson said BLM would provide written briefing materials to council members earlier in the future to allow for more thoughtful and prepared discussion at meetings. He said he would ask staff to do so one week in advance of future meetings.

The council then approved the minutes of the July 28-30, 2002, field tour as written.

November RAC chairs' conference with Director & video downlink

Gary Gustafson said BLM Director Kathleen Clarke would host a two-day conference with RAC chairs in Phoenix Nov. 19-20, 2002. Gustafson said he would represent the Alaska RAC and was one of three chairs asked to provide a brief snapshot of their council.

Gustafson said he would discuss how the Alaska RAC functions as a statewide RAC (since many Lower 48 RACs advise a specific field office only) and this council's role in looking at multiple-use topics rather than grazing issues. Each chair would be asked to talk about a specific success of his or her RAC. Gustafson said he would like to talk about the Fortymile effort where the RAC achieved consensus on a difficult issue.

He said the conference agenda would include a discussion of what works and what doesn't with regard to RACs, and how BLM can work with RACs to bring the right issues to the table. The Director would talk about the Secretary's "Four C's" which are consultation, communication, and cooperation, all in the service of conservation, and how the RACs can be an effective tool for achieving these goals.

On day two of the conference (Nov. 20) the Director will host a video downlink with all RACs to discuss the role of the councils in the future. BLM will offer the downlink in Anchorage and in Fairbanks. Start time is 8 a.m. Alaska time (10 a.m. Arizona time). The downlink would last approximately 2 hours. It will be interactive and during the second half of the broadcast, RAC members will have access to touch-to-speak phones where calls will be taken and heard live. Gustafson encouraged RAC members to participate in the broadcast so the council could use this information as they prepare a 2003 work plan.

State Director's Update

Henri Bisson said he looked forward to the RAC drawing up a work plan for 2003 and perhaps looking at the charter for any needed changes. He said it would be a good time to clarify expectations about the RAC's roles and responsibilities. He said he was committed to open, honest communication with the RAC and planned to attend all meetings, because those discussions that don't result in resolutions still have value to BLM managers. He said he would be frank with the RAC if he felt they were ever headed down an avenue that would conflict with national policy or direction. He's also very interested in the use of subgroups to look at specific issues where appropriate.

Bisson said he and the chair would present a good summary of the Phoenix conference at the next RAC meeting, which might help frame the RAC's work plan for 2003.

Bisson said it was good to meet the remaining RAC members who did not make the Denali Highway trip this summer. He explained some of his priorities, which included the Trans Alaska Pipeline System renewal and the Northwest NPR-A plan. Other priorities include completing conveyances and addressing outdated segregations. He said BLM Alaska would focus on multiple use, that he wants to make lands available for appropriate uses, and that Alaska's public lands are an important economic engine in the state.

Bisson said BLM is committed to communicating better with the RAC, as promised in his recent letter to council members. He said RAC members would receive all BLM press releases in a prompt manner and promised closer communication about BLM decisions in the future.

Bisson summarized several topics:

BLM is currently operating under a continuing resolution that may impact land use planning and leasing activities. BLM may need to look within for funding to continue our highest priorities.
The TAPS renewal effort is on schedule. The Record of Decision is due in late December.
BLM just completed a third regional meeting (Chugach region) to seek input on a 17(b) easement inventory and proposed terminations.

Steve Simmons asked if BLM has funds for maintenance of 17(b) easements. Bisson said there are some funds for easement management, but he's unsure which may be first priority. Gene Terland added there are recreation dollars for some trails, but none are currently targeted for 17(b) easement maintenance.

(Note: Chair Gary Gustafson excused himself at this point to catch a scheduled flight. Vice chair David van den Berg chaired the remainder of the meeting.)

BREAK

Field managers provided a brief update of their respective field offices.

Peter Ditton, Anchorage Field Office

BLM has awarded a contract to URS Corp. to complete the Ring of Fire RMP. This is the first time BLM has contracted out an entire RMP. The field office will soon publish a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register. The RMP is scheduled for completion in 2005.
BLM expects to issue a decision by the end of the year regarding the Municipality's proposed waterline across a portion of Campbell Tract.
BLM is finalizing a cooperative management plan with Alaska DOT and Fish and Game for the Knik River gravel pit site. DOT will soon close the ramp area for the season. BLM partnered with the state on a successful Public Lands Day cleanup event at the site Aug. 24. BLM will work with DEC to develop a cleanup plan for lead contamination at the site.
BLM and the Forest Service are completing an EA for withdrawal of approximately 3,000 acres from mineral entry along the Russian River. The withdrawal will protect fisheries, habitat, recreation and cultural values.
The field office has completed several upgrades at Campbell Tract recently. The science center access road was resurfaced. The airstrip was also resurfaced and encroaching vegetation removed to allow C-130 aircraft in the event of emergencies.
Larry Houle said it would be helpful sometime to take a short hike out to the radio site and learn a little more about these sites.

Glennallen Field Office

Jody Weil, Chief of External Affairs, presented a summary of Glennallen work efforts.

The draft amendment of the Gulkana River management plan will be mailed out by the end of October for public review and comment.
BLM issued 14 permits for commercial use of the Gulkana River for FY 2003. Eventually, BLM will consider multi-year permits. Some RAC members were concerned about the length of permits if issued for longer than one season.
The field office will hold a public meeting on heliski operations in Valdez in late October. Weil distributed copies of a heliski newsletter and said the RAC would be placed on the mail list for future newsletters.
Construction for new facilities for the Glennallen Field Office will begin in FY 2003. One old building will be donated to the community.

Bob Schneider, Northern Field Office

The NPR-A subsistence panel met at Nuiqsut in August and then took a field trip to a ConocoPhillips production facility to view a new elevated pipeline design. The NPR-A Research and Monitoring team met in September to discuss priority research projects that would evaluate the effectiveness of stipulations from the Northeast NPR-A document.
In late September, the Northern Field Office issued an emergency closure of a popular easement east of Barrow where a large number of polar bears pose safety hazards to the public. The closure will remain in effect until May 2003.
In August the field office entered into an agreement with the City of Elim to dispose of equipment and materials from a nearby abandoned mine. BLM will purchase parts for the equipment and the city will perform the repairs and relocate the equipment to Elim for use by the village. It would cost BLM $300,000 to contract for removal of the equipment, while costs for repair and removal of the equipment under the MOU are only $32,000.

Rick Solie said he would like to see agencies pursue innovative, practical solutions like this more often in the future, in lieu of expensive contracts.

Denali Block conveyance status

Linda Resseguie of BLM's conveyance division explained BLM had formally dismissed a recent protest from Ahtna, Inc. regarding conveyance of lands in the Denali Block to the State. Resseguie said BLM had entered into an agreement with the State Historic Preservation Officer to provide appropriate cultural protections for the lands upon conveyance.

The dismissal, dated Oct. 10, is subject to appeal to the Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA) within 30 days. Following the appeal period, BLM will issue the tentative approval granting title to the State.

Land withdrawals

Susan Lavin presented an overview of the different types of land withdrawals:

administrative withdrawals (Executive Orders, Secretarial Orders, and Public Land Orders)
Congressional withdrawals (military reservations and conservation system units)
de facto withdrawals (actions that segregate lands, such as state or ANCSA selection applications).

Lavin demonstrated on a map the various layers of withdrawals in place in the Bristol Bay area, such as military withdrawals, state selections, and topfilings, to illustrate this complexity.

Mike Haskins then discussed the problem of outdated withdrawals. He said BLM agrees it's time to revisit the purpose of some withdrawals and determine which are necessary and which might be considered for revocation. He said the ten-year planning schedule BLM has undertaken would eventually address the issue, but some areas of high value may merit action sooner.

He proposed a withdrawal/classification review process to define the scope of impacts associated with D-1 withdrawals. This information will be integrated into BLM's comprehensive planning process. This information may also merit more immediate action by BLM, on a limited basis, outside the current planning schedule. This may include working with ANCSA corporations and the State of Alaska to resolve over-selection issues and taking action to modify some existing withdrawals to allow expanded uses.

Lavin said the Bristol Bay region might be a good pilot for this proposal, since many of these issues are present and land use planning for this area won't occur until 2007/2008. She pointed out areas where layers of selections and withdrawals create a fractured pattern of closures.

Haskins suggested the RAC might form a work group to work with BLM on a process to rank areas for assessment and consideration. Bisson assured the RAC that if the Bristol Bay region was determined a priority, BLM would analyze withdrawals sooner rather than wait for the planning window. He said the Fortymile area also has a number of outdated segregations that need resolution.

Bisson said if the RAC had consensus in asking BLM to address unnecessary withdrawals, then he would like to see a subgroup formed to work on a process. Council members were interested and discussed crafting a resolution to support this approach.

The chair asked Bob Loeffler if he had comments about this issue. Loeffler said there was definitely a need to address federal withdrawals. He said the State was very interested and would like to participate in the subgroup.

LUNCH

Public comment period

June Taylor, Eagle, AK

Taylor said she was happy to see BLM and the State become proactive about multiple use. She said Alaska's economy can't depend on tourism alone, that other resources are important. She commended Bob Schneider and the Tok field staff for their responsiveness to the Taylor's requests for information.

Eleanor Huffines, The Wilderness Society

Huffines said the environmental community was not against drilling in NPR-A, but they are adamant that areas targeted for "maximum protection" under the 1998 Record of Decision receive that protection. She said it's a good time to look at what was agreed to and be sure it's being done. She said some of the stipulations have been relaxed and cited the example of proposed roads where previously roads were not to even be considered.

Huffines handed out copies of comments by environmental organizations dated April 23, 2002, concerning BLM's proposed rule on recordable disclaimers of interest. She said they were concerned that the proposed rule would provide loopholes that might allow RS 2477 assertions.

The chair thanked Taylor and Huffines for their comments.

Outdated withdrawals resolution

Tom Crafford said the members who worked on a draft resolution over the lunch period would like to continue this effort over the next couple weeks and circulate a draft for electronic voting at that time. The council discussed whether to table the resolution until the next regular meeting. Several members were in favor of entertaining a resolution at this meeting. Henri Bisson said it would be helpful to have a resolution from the RAC if the group would like BLM to begin the task of addressing this issue.

Larry Houle said he normally favors circulating a draft one meeting in advance, but since there seemed to be agreement on this issue, he was comfortable with proceeding with a resolution.

Crafford volunteered to craft a resolution for the group's consideration. The RAC concurred with this approach and named a committee to work with Crafford. It was agreed that Tom Crafford, Charlie Boddy, David van den Berg and John Stroud would work together to draft a resolution for the RAC's consideration and vote within two weeks.

It was further agreed that a work group of RAC members would be formed to work with BLM managers and specialists and with industry and interested publics to develop a process to address outdated segregations. The work group would include Tom Crafford, Steve Simmons, Susan Olsen, Jim Posey, Paul Roehl and Gary Gustafson.

Recordable Disclaimers of Interest Proposed Rulemaking

Mike Haskins provided RAC members with a short handout summarizing the status of the proposed rulemaking. He said in February of this year, BLM published a proposed rule to amend regulations to allow any entity claiming title to lands to apply for a disclaimer to remove the current 12-year statute of limitation. Since that time, BLM has received over 15,000 comments on the proposed rule. Many of the comments in opposition to the proposed rule focused on concerns that states could use this rule to implement RS 2477 rights-of-way.

Haskins said BLM has met with the Solicitor to clarify some points. It is BLM's position that the rule is not applicable to RS 2477s and does not violate the Congressional moratorium on finalizing RS 2477 regulations. A final rule will be published in 2003.

Additional public comment

The chair announced that one additional member of the public had arrived and asked to address the council.

Theresa Obermeyer

Obermeyer discussed a recent speech by a U.S. Senator. The chair asked the speaker to focus her comments on matters relative to the BLM. Obermeyer discussed the Permanent Fund and other topics unrelated to the council's agenda or the BLM's authorities. The chair advised the speaker that her comments were outside the council's purview as an advisory body to the BLM.

BREAK

Northwest NPR-A/Colville River planning

Bob Schneider gave an overview of the Northwest NPR-A planning schedule. He said BLM is currently completing an internal review of the draft document that would be released for public comment in January 2003. BLM would then analyze comments and finalize the plan for release in mid-summer. BLM expects to announce the Record of Decision in the fall of 2003 and issue a notice of intent for a lease sale the following spring.

Schneider said BLM is making some internal adjustments to the draft and hoped to get it out for review by January. He said the plan would present four alternatives rather than five, and would not state a preferred alternative. The range of alternatives would include land use allocations, prescriptive stips (as in the Northeast plan), performance-based stips, and general stips, and discussed how these might be applied.

John Stroud said it seemed premature to consider activities prior to evaluating the effectiveness of the NE stips. Schneider said BLM has made adjustments based on the NE stips which will now factor into the NW plan.

Next, Schneider discussed the various levels of planning:

land use plans, or RMPs, determine land allocations: oil and gas leasing, OHV designations, wilderness areas, wild and scenic rivers, etc.
activity level plans implement land use plan decisions: recreation activities, transportation plans, wildlife habitat, Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, etc.
project plans implement activity plan directions for campgrounds, pull-outs, etc.

He explained the Colville River Special Area was created in 1977 out of a need to protect raptors. In the NW NPR-A plan, BLM decided to develop a separate plan for the Colville area to consider raptors, recreation, visual, paleo, health and safety, and subsistence values. BLM began scoping for this area in November of 2000.

Then in January of 2001, Secretary Babbitt directed DOI agencies to consider wilderness during the planning process and make recommendations where appropriate. Planning for NW NPR-A began that December. BLM conducted scoping meetings in January and February 2002. Scoping identified the issue of watershed planning for the Colville, so BLM made the decision to move 600,000 acres out of the NW plan to the South NPR-A planning area, but to keep that stretch of the river from Awuna to Puddin Lake in the NW plan.

David van den Berg said that any activities permitted in this area would make watershed planning more difficult in the South NPR-A plan.

The council discussed asking the chair of the NPR-A Research and Monitoring Team (RMT) to attend a future RAC meeting. They were also concerned that Fish and Game didn't have a seat on the RMT. Schneider said F&G had declined to name a rep, citing concerns about the group being a FACA (Federal Advisory Committee Act) council, but he said they did attend in a non-voting capacity.

Susan Olsen said she would like to hear from the RMT once they had something to report, rather than hear what they hoped to do. The chair suggested the RAC revisit this topic at a future date.

The chair then asked Cam Toohey if he wanted to make any remarks to the RAC.

Toohey said operating under a continuing resolution may impact BLM's workload and could delay some projects. He encouraged BLM to keep the higher priorities on schedule, even if it meant shifting resources internally, since it's unlikely any budget would pass in the near future.

Toohey said he's comfortable with the transition under new State Director Henri Bisson and felt good about the direction BLM is taking.

The chair asked if there was any particular work effort the Secretary would like the RAC to focus on. Toohey said he encouraged the RAC to remain involved in planning for NPR-A and encouraged maximum public participation in this and other planning efforts.

BREAK

RAC 2003 Work Plan

Henri Bisson said the November chair's conference in Phoenix would provide some insight into what issues the RAC might take up, in particular how RACs might be most effective during land use planning. He said Gary Gustafson had suggested the RAC name two or three members to help develop a work plan for 2003.

Bisson suggested possible topics that might make the work plan:

outdated segregations/withdrawals
two land use plans: Ring of Fire (SE/SC Alaska) & East Alaska (Glennallen area)
conveyances: how to improve the conveyance effort to accelerate the process. He said he'd met with Drue Pierce and Cam Toohey on this recently and planned to meet with external customers and Congressionals, then formulate a strategy and involve the RAC.

Steve Simmons said maintenance of 17(b) easements was one of the reasons he got involved in the RAC and hoped this would make the RAC's 2003 work plan.

Susan Olsen said she wants the RAC to look at increased OHV use on public lands. She mentioned the summit she attended earlier this year and hoped to become involved in a work group discussed at the summit. Bisson said BLM would find out whether the group had been formed and get back with Olsen.

Olsen also suggested that since land use planning is a multi-year process, the RAC might want to organize a standing subgroup to review this effort.

Larry Taylor was interested in hearing more about prescribed burns. Tom Crafford agreed this was a hot topic nationally and that Drue Pierce had recently talked about the administration's interest in wildland fire management at a Resource Development Council meeting.

Crafford also asked to have an update or briefing about 3809 regs at the next meeting. Charlie Boddy asked that this include reclamation and bonding issues.

The council then discussed who might work with Gustafson to develop a work plan. It was decided that David van den Berg, Larry Taylor, Charlie Boddy and Steve Simmons would do so. (Note: Sandra Key expressed interest to Gustafson that she would like to assist in this effort.)

Non-agenda items

Steve Simmons said he posted to his office web site photos from the RAC's July field tour of the Denali Highway and a brief report of the trip (see www.chickaloon.org/Forestry/Default.htm).

Simmons also told RAC members that he was on the Matanuska-Susitna Advisory Committee. The committee recently passed a resolution in support of hunting in the Trans Alaska Pipeline System corridor, and asked him to relay this fact to the RAC.

2003 meeting schedule

Larry Taylor said he preferred the RAC's typical two-day meeting over a one-day compressed meeting. He said there were issues where more dialog would have been useful during this meeting, that the compressed agenda had not allowed time for adequate discussion. Some council members concurred. Henri Bisson said he and his managers were available for two-day meetings if that was the council's preference.

The RAC then set tentative dates for 2003 meetings as follows:

January 27-28 (Anchorage)
April 28-29 (Fairbanks)
July 10-11 field tour, possibly to Coldfoot Visitor Center
October 20-21 (Anchorage)

Meeting adjourned 4:30 p.m.

Please contact the Alaska RAC Coordinator for further information.