> **ALASKA MARITIME NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE**
>
> **EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTS ON SUBSISTENCE** USES **AND NEEDS**
>
> **(ANTLCA SECTION 810 EVALUATION)**
>
> The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, acting for the Secretary of
> Interior, is required by Section 810 of the Alaska National Interest
> Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) to evaluate the effects on subsistence
> uses and needs in determining whether to withdraw, reserve, lease, or
> otherwise permit the use, occupancy, or disposition of public lands on
> national wildlife refuges in Alaska. The evaluation of effects of this
> proposed action/use on subsistence uses and needs is documented below.
> If this evaluation concludes with a finding that the proposed action
> would result in significant restriction to subsistence uses and needs,
> and we wish to proceed, we must initiate further procedural
> requirements of Section 810.
>
> **PROPOSED ACTION/USE:**
>
> The University NAVSTAR Consortium, Inc. (UNAVCO), a non-profit
> corporation funded by the National Science Foundation, has requested a
> right-of-way permit to install, operate, and maintain seismic
> monitoring equipment on four islands within the boundaries of the
> Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge: Chernabura, Sutwik, Chirkof,
> and Ushagat.
>
> The project is part of a large monitoring network known as the Plate
> Boundary Observatory (PBO) which consists of about 1,000 continuously
> operating Global Positioning System (GPS) stations in the continental
> United States and Alaska. The network is used to monitor physical
> processes that control earthquake and volcanic eruptions. These data
> may be useful in providing hazard warnings to the public.

The equipment to be installed in one location on each island consists of
a GPS monument, equipment enclosure, and solar panels. The GPS monument
is basically a tri-pod (not more than 6 feet high) with a small 16 inch
diameter dome mounted on top. The small equipment enclosure (70 inches x
48 inches x 55 inches) is a prefabricated fiberglass hut that encloses
the power and communications equipment. The fiberglass hut supports two
solar panels. Two additional solar panels would be mounted on a
supporting framework adjacent to the hut. A more thorough description of
the project with photographs of the equipment, maps of the project area
and land status are included in the *Environmental Assessment, Plate
Boundary Observatory Global Positioning System Network, Installation and
Maintenance on the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge* (USFWS
2007).

> **EVALUATION:**
>
> **1. Subsistence Resources, Uses and Needs in the Affected Area:**
>
> *Chernabura:* Chernabura Island is located in the Shumagin Islands,
> south of the Alaska Peninsula. The closest village, Sand Point, on
> Popof Island, is about 50 miles northwest of the proposed GPS site.
> While Sand Point subsistence users range throughout the Shumagin
> Islands for their subsistence needs, Chernabura was not identified as
> a destination in the study conducted by Alaska Department of Fish and
> Game in 1992 (Fall et al.) According to their report, typical
> subsistence resources used in the Sand Point area include: Salmon and
> other fish (e.g. halibut, pacific cod, Dolly Varden char, rockfish)
> marine invertebrates such as chitons, king crab, Tanner crab, and
> octopus, wild plants and berries, land mammals (caribou from the
> Alaska Peninsula), wild fowl (ptarmigan, ducks, Canada geese), gull
> eggs, and marine mammals (Fall et al.1992).
>
> Current subsistence use for Sand Point residents is described in the
> Shumagin Corporation\'s web site, Shumagin.com. Acknowledging that
> subsistence fare complements store-bought supplies for most Sand Point
> residents, the web site states that residents fish for salmon, cod,
> halibut and trout, hunt ptarmigan on Popof Island, and moose, bear,
> and caribou on the mainland. They gather gull eggs and ribbon kelp
> each spring, and harvest butter clams and sea urchins. In late July
> and August, they pick salmonberries, mossberries, and blueberries.
>
> *Sutwik:* Sutwik is an uninhabited island south of the Alaska
> Peninsula and southwest of Kodiak. The nearest communities are
> Chignik, Chignik Lake and Chignik Lagoon, on the Alaska Peninsula,
> some 45 to 60 miles southwest of Sutwik. According to Fall et al.
> (1995) subsistence harvests in communities of the Pacific Ocean side
> of the Alaska Peninsula consist primarily of salmon, other fish, land
> mammals such as caribou and moose, clams, ducks, geese, ptarmigan,
> bird eggs, marine mammals, and wild plants. This harvest of mammals
> takes place primarily on the Alaska Peninsula proper (Alaska Maritime
> National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan 1988).
>
> *Chirikof:* Chirikof Island is fairly isolated; the proposed GPS site
> would be about 100 miles east-southeast of villages on the Alaska
> Peninsula or 100 to 200 miles from Kodiak Island villages. Subsistence
> resources used by Alaska Peninsula communities were discussed above
> (see Sutwik). Subsistence resources used in the Kodiak area include
> salmon, land mammals (mostly deer from Kodiak Island), marine mammals,
> invertebrates, fish other than salmon, birds (ptarmigan, ducks,
> geese), eggs, and wild plants (Fall et al. 1993).
>
> *Ushagat:* Ushagat Island lies in the Barren Islands, southwest of the
> Kenai Peninsula. The communities of Nanwalak, Port Graham, Seldovia,
> and Homer are between 30 and 55 miles distant, respectively. Similar
> to Alaska Peninsula residents, Nanwalak and Port Graham residents use
> salmon and other fish, marine invertebrates, marine mammals, wild
> plants, land mammals, birds, and eggs (Fall, James A. editor 1996).
> According to the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge
> Comprehensive Conservation Plan (1988), no known harvest activity
> takes place on refuge lands near Homer.
>
> **2. Concerns Expressed by Potentially Affected Subsistence Users
> and/or the State:** For this proposed project we reviewed subsistence
> studies done by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Division of
> Subsistence, but did not specifically contact potentially affected
> interests. The proposed action is not a controversial or major action
> that will have significant effects on local subsistence users. None of
> the islands identified in this proposed project are inhabited, and
> communities with subsistence users are located in excess of 30 miles
> from the proposed sites.

**3. Effects of Proposed Action or Use on Subsistence Uses and Needs:**
The action should have no effect on subsistence uses or needs. None of
the four islands on which the equipment described above will be located
are inhabited. Most GPS stations would be installed in locations and at
elevations where few wildlife or plants thrive. Helicopter over-flights
to the installation sites may temporarily disturb some localized
populations, but any effects would likely be short term and transitory.
Permit stipulations will prohibit helicopters from flying over or within
½ mile of seabird colonies (while birds are present) or Steller sea lion
haulouts and rookeries. Stipulations will also prohibit approach on foot
within ½ mile, or within sight, of a documented sea lion rookery or
haulout, and approach by boat within a 3 mile radius of a rookery site.

> **4. Availability of Other Lands for the Purposes Sought to be
> Achieved:** The GPS stations must be located at the proposed sites to
> monitor the seismic interest between Kodiak and the Shumagin Islands.
> In many cases the only suitable location is on refuge land. Some
> stations will be installed on Native conveyed lands subject to
> permission from the landowner or land manager.
>
> **5. Other Alternatives Which Would Reduce or Eliminate Use of Public
> Lands Needed for Subsistence Purposes:** Denying the permit would
> eliminate the use of refuge lands by the UNAVCO Plate Boundary
> Observatory.
>
> **FINDING:**

Based on review and evaluation of information indicated above and in the
supporting references indicated below, I have determined that the
proposed action will not result in a significant restriction of
subsistence uses. GPS stations would be installed on uninhabited
islands; all would be located more than 30 miles from the nearest
community. The proposed sites will be situated primarily inland on rocky
outcrops. There may be disturbance to a small amount of vegetation, but
typically the stations are installed in gravelly or rocky alpine areas
with sparse vegetation not utilized by concentrations of wildlife,
especially the coastal species desired by subsistence users. After
installation, stations would require a brief maintenance visit only
about once every three years, limiting disturbance to the area\'s
resources. The project would benefit area residents by helping to
monitor earthquake activity and to warn residents of potential localized
tsunamis resulting from earthquakes.

> **AGENCY DECISION:**
>
> A finding of no significant restriction in subsistence uses completes
> the Section 810 requirements. The proposed action or use may be
> authorized.
>
> **SIGNATURES:**
>
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Refuge Manager Date

**Concurrence:**

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Regional Chief, National Wildlife Refuge System Date

> **SUPPORTING REFERENCES:**
>
> Alaska Policy Manual, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
>
> Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, Final Comprehensive
> Conservation Plan, Environmental Impact Statement, Wilderness Review.
> Record of Decision signed August 26,1988.
>
> Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), 1980.
>
> Environmental Assessment, Plate Boundary Observatory Global
> Positioning System Network, Installation and Maintenance on the Alaska
> Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. USFWS 2007.
>
> Fall, James A., Lisa B. Hutchinson-Scarbrough, and Philippa A. Coiley,
> 1995. Fish and Wildlife Harvest and Use in Five Alaska Peninsula
> Communities, 1989: Subsistence Uses in Chignik Bay, Chignik Lagoon,
> Chignik Lake, Ivanof Bay, and Perryville, Technical Paper No.202.
>
> Fall, James A., David B. Andersen, Louis Brown, Michael Coffing,
> Gretchen Jennings, Craig Mishler, Amy Paige, Charles J. Utermohle, and
> Vicki Vanek. Noncommercial Harvests and Uses of Wild Resources in Sand
> Point, Alaska, 1992. Technical Paper No. 226 with map supplement
> (Subsistence Harvest maps, Sand Point, Alaska).
>
> Fall, James A., editor. Contributors: Louis Brown, Janet Cohen, James
> A. Fall, Gretchen Jennings, Rachel Mason, Rita Miraglia, Craig
> Mishler, Sandy Skaggs, Ronald Stanek, Lee Stratton, and Charles J.
> Utermohle., 1996. Subsistence Harvest and Uses in Seven Gulf of Alaska
> Communities in the Second Year Following the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill.,
> Technical Paper No. 218.

Fall, James A. and Robert J. Walker, 1993. Subsistence Harvests by Six
Kodiak Island Borough Communities, Technical Paper No. 193.

http://www.shumagin.com/Pages/History.html

> Service Manual - Region 7, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.