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CHICHAGOF PROPOSAL. 



DESCRIPTION: An extremely beautiful inner island bay and island 

 complex adjacent to existing West Chichagof Wilderness. Includes 

 the lands surrounding Hoonah Sound, the Moore Mountains, the 

 Lisianski River corridor, Idaho Inlet, Port Althrop, Upper 

 Tenakee Inlet and John Muir Portage. Lisianski, Idaho Inlet, the 

 North Arm of Hoonah Sound, and Ushk Bay have expansive tidal 

 flats where brown bear and waterfowl are a common sight. Part of 

 Port Althrop has been classified as a brown bear sanctuary. Very 

 popular for outdoor recreation. Heavily used for subsistence 

 hunting and fishing and has a rich Native heritage. Lisianski 

 River, an excellent example of a floodplain spruce ecosystem that 

 ecologists now believe will not regenerate after logging, is one 

 of the top five pink salmon producers in the region. Commercial 

 fishing harvest value of Lisianski River was valued at $1 million 

 in 1983. 



HISTORY: Area was first visited by John Muir in 1880. Portions 

 of the proposed area were requested for wilderness protection by 

 southeast Alaskans in 1967 and included as one of the five 

 wilderness areas proposed in the original H.R. 39 in 1977. 

 Almost half of the current proposal was approved as wilderness by 

 the U.S. House of Representatives in 1978. These critical areas 

 were deleted from the final bill. City of Pelican supports 

 wilderness designation for the Lisianski River corridor which was 

 also proposed by the Forest Service for a Research Natural Area 

 in 1988. City of Tenakee Springs opposes logging and roads for 

 Fat Lady Flats, Long Bay / Seal Bay area, and Muir Portage. 

 Chichagof and Lisianski area recommended as wilderness by 

 Sealaska Corporation in 1987. Lisianski, Upper Hoonah Sound, 

 Deep Bay and Ushk Bay all supported for protection by United 

 Fishermen of Alaska in 1988. 



LAND STATUS: In the APC 50-year contract area. Much of the 

 proposed area including Deep Bay, Patterson Bay, and Poison Cove 

 slated for logging activity in the 86-90 APC Operating Plan. Now 

 deferred until May 1989 when the 81-86 & 86-90 Supplemental EIS 

 is scheduled for completion. APC has already requested 

 additional areas including the Lisianski River for the next 91-95 

 Operating Plan due to be finalized by July 1990, well before the 

 TLMP revision will be completed. All other LUD Ills and LUa IVs 

 will be scheduled in future operating periods. The Lisianski 

 Corridor is currently temporarily "reserved" from logging due to 

 overwhelming public support for protecting the area from the 

 State of Alaska, City of Pelican and Sitka Fish and Game Advisory 

 Council . 



ACREAGE: 347,771 acres. 



SCHEDULED TIMBER BASE: 8.11 million board feet per year. 



