c^APm ft 



DEVELOPMENT OF 

 ALTERNATIVES 



Alternative development took place during 

 the Beaver Lake Collaborative Effort from 

 summer through fall of 1997 (see Chapter I, 

 Public Scoping). Ideas on how to address 

 issues, generate additional revenue for the 

 school trusts, and protect or enhance adjacent 

 landowners and cabinsite leaseholders' invest- 

 ments were discussed and defined by the 

 collaborative. 



The collaborative requested DNRC to present 

 proposed timber harvesting, road construc- 

 tion, and transportation plans. This informa- 

 tion and ideas generated from the collabora- 

 tive were incorporated into alternatives. The 

 idea of including an additional harvest unit 

 adjacent to the existing cabinsite leases on 

 Beaver Lake and portions of the leases where 

 leaseholders wanted to participate was 

 adopted for the action alternatives. The 

 primary goal of the silvicultural treatments 

 applied to this harvest unit would be to reduce 

 fire hazards and expand the defensible space 

 around these cabinsites in the event of a 

 wildfire while retaining aesthetic values. 



The collaborative suggested that the develop- 

 ment of new cabinsite leases on Murray Lake 

 be analyzed as part of the action alternatives. 

 These leases would provide an additional 

 source of income from the area and create a 

 presence of residents on Murray Lake. That 

 presence may reduce the litter and water- 

 quality problems that currently occur from 

 unmanaged recreational use. 



Some individuals were concerned about the 

 location of a segment of new road that was 

 proposed in the initial transportation plan; 

 they felt alternative routes were feasible. After 

 attending the field trips and reviewing both of 



'/S'-- 



the proposed transportation systems, the n/ 

 collaborative decided to fully develop 2 

 alternatives and analyze their impacts. 



Additional revenue for the trust may be 

 produced from making the existing Beaver 

 Lake cabinsites available for purchase consis- 

 tent with the current State enabling legislation. 

 (Note: After analyzing the impacts of selling or 

 purchasing a particular lot, any or all of the 

 interested parties, including the State, may decline 

 to pursue a sale. Inclusion in the environmental 

 analysis does not obligate any party to sell or 

 purchase a particular lot.) 



Collection of use fees for roads accessing 

 adjacent private property would also (on a ' 

 permanent or temporary easement basis) 

 provide revenue to the trust. This component 

 of the alternatives was developed after several 

 adjacent landowners expressed interest in 

 obtaining rights-of-way across State lands. 

 The collaborative and ID Team proposed that 

 all known rights-of-way proposals be ana- 

 lyzed at once under this environmental analy- 

 sis, rather than individually, to gain efficiency 

 and better portray cumulative impacts. (Note: 

 It is possible that after analyzing the impacts of 

 granting or obtaining a particular access, any or all 

 of the interested landowners, including the State, 

 may decline to pursue the matter. Inclusion in the 

 environmental analysis does not obligate any 

 landowner to sell, purchase, or lease a particular 

 access/easement). 



An easement to access land located on the east 

 side of Beaver Lake in Section 21 was re- 

 quested by a landowner. To grant this ease- 

 ment, a road that would conform with the 

 transportation plan would need to be located 

 further north of Little Beaver and Beaver lakes 

 than it is presently. After considerable recon- 

 naissance, DNRC personnel could not locate a 

 route that met the transportation plan stan- 

 dards. The main problems encountered were 



Chapter II: Alternatives 



U-l 



