A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan

U.S. Forest Service

Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan 

FINAL

September 2012
Cover Photo - Alaska Marine Highway Ferry Aurora, Dave Hughes 

Inside Cover Photo - Tongass NF, Mary Miller
U.S. Forest Service

Alaska Region Long Range 

Transportation Plan 

A Drop-Down Plan to the 

Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan

FINAL

September 2012
D A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

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A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan E

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

Moving Ahead for Progress in the 

21st Century Act 

As the final version of the U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range 

Transportation Plan was completed, the two-year highway authorization, 

Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), was signed 

into law. Effective October 1, 2012, MAP-21 abolishes the Forest Highway 

Program described in this plan and incorporates the U.S. Forest Service into 

the Federal Lands Transportation Program. Discretionary funding programs 

available to the U.S. Forest Service and other Federal land management 

agencies under the previous Federal highway authorization also changed 

under MAP-21. For example, MAP-21 alters or eliminates programs, such 

as Public Lands Highway Discretionary Program, Paul S. Sarbanes Transit 

in Parks, Transportation Enhancements, Recreational Trails Program, and 

National Scenic Byways, and creates the Federal Lands Access Program—a 

formula-based program that provides funding for transportation planning, 

construction, rehabilitation, and maintenance for facilities located on or 

providing access to Federal lands.

Despite changes in Federal highway authorization, the high-level goals, 

recommendations, and actions presented in this long range transportation 

plan remain relevant and complementary to the new law. For example, the 

Forest Highway program described in this plan is abolished under MAP-21, 

however the needs and priorities described in that discussion remain valid and 

will be used as inputs to the new Federal Lands Access Program. The next 

version of the Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan will further 

document the connections between the region’s long-range goals, objectives, 

and actions remain relevant under MAP-21 in the context of highway 

authorization law in effect at that time.
F A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

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A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan I

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

Table of Contents

List of Acronyms and Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IV

Executive Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  

Plan Audience. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Priority Transportation System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Needs and Gaps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

1. Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  

1.1 Purpose and Need . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

1.2 Audience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

1.2.1 Forest Supervisors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

1.2.2 Regional Level. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

1.2.3 National Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

1.2.4 Potential Partners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

1.3 Background. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

1.3.1 Chugach National Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

1.3.2 Tongass National Forest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

1.4 Forest Highways. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

1.5 Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

1.6 Plan Mission, Goals, Objectives, and Strategies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

1.7 Long Range Transportation Plan Organization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

2. Regulatory and Planning Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  1

2.1 Alaska Planning Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

2.2 Other Influences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

2.2.1 Tribal Government. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

2.2.2 Public Involvement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

2.2.3 Climate Change. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

2.2.4 Southeast Alaska Transportation Plan Addendum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

3. Existing Transportation System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  1

3.1 Roads. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

3.2 Trails. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

3.3 Recreation Facilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

3.4 Other Transportation-Related Assets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

3.5 Forest Highways. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
II A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

4. Priority Transportation System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  2

5. Funding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  2

5.1 Historic Forest Service Construction and Maintenance Funding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

5.2 Funding Opportunities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

5.2.1 Forest Service Internal Funding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

5.2.2 External Forest Highway Program. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

5.2.3 Forest Service External Funding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

5.3 Planning Horizons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

5.3.1 Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

5.3.2 Chugach. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

5.3.3 Tongass. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

6. Needs and Gaps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3

6.1 Deferred Maintenance Gap. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

6.2 Operational Logistics Gap. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

7. Performance Measures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3

8. Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4

Appendix A: Summary of FS Transportation Regulatory and Planning Framework

Appendix B: Excerpt from ADOT&PF Southeast Alaska Transportation Plan

Appendix C: Alaska Region Transportation System Maps

Appendix D: Alaska Region LRTP Priority Transportation System Maps
A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan III

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

List of Figures

Figure 1 Forest Service Alaska Region. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Figure 2 Alaska Region National Forests. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Figure 3 National Forest System Road and Trail Planning and Regulatory Framework . . . . . . . . 14

Figure 4 Forest Highway Conditions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Figure 5 Chugach Forest Highways. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Figure 6 Tongass Forest Highways . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Figure 7 Internal Road Construction and Maintenance Funding Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Figure 8 Transportation Appropriations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Figure 9 Forest Highway Program Development Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

List of Tables

Table 1 Chugach National Forest Geographic Areas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Table 2 National Forest System Roads. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Table 3 National Forest Service Trails by Type and Class. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Table 4 Recreation and Related Facilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Table 5 Other Transportation-Related Assets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Table 6 Forest Service Internal Transportation Funding Programs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Table 7 Performance Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
IV A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

List of Acronyms and Abbreviations

ADOT&PF Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities

ANILCA Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act

ATM Plan Access and Travel Management Plan

CFR Code of Federal Regulations

Chugach Chugach National Forest

CIP Capital Improvement Program

EIS Environmental impact statement

FHWA Federal Highway Administration (U.S. Department of 

Transportation)

FLH Federal Lands Highway (U.S. Department of Transportation)

FLMA Federal Land Management Agency

FS Forest Service (U.S. Department of Agriculture)

FSM Forest Service Manual

FTA Federal Transit Administration

GIS Geographic Information Systems

Infra Forest Service infrastructure database

IRR Indian Reservation Road

LRTP Long Range Transportation Plan

MVUM Motor Vehicle Use Map

NEPA National Environmental Policy Act of 1969

NFS National Forest System

STIP Statewide Transportation Improvement Program

TIP Transportation Improvement Program

Tongass Tongass National Forest

TRACS Trail Condition and Assessment Surveys

U.S.C. United States Code

WFL Western Federal Lands (Highway Division)
A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan 1

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

This U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Alaska Region of the U.S. Forest Service 

(FS) Long Range Transportation Plan 

(LRTP) complements and strengthens this 

agency's transportation decision-making 

capabilities at a regional scale. The plan 

ensures that transportation priorities 

and funding decisions are guided by FS 

long range goals and objectives and that 

projects which are the most effective in 

achieving desired future conditions are 

supported. The LRTP goals and objectives 

presented in this document are intended 

to provide a long range perspective 

to the evaluation and selection of FS 

transportation improvement projects in 

Alaska. The goal statements are based 

on national-level FS vision and also 

incorporate values of importance to the 

FS Alaska Region. These statements 

shaped the development, conclusions, and 

recommendations of this LRTP.

The purpose of this plan is to ensure that 

transportation priorities and funding 

decisions are guided by long range goals 

and objectives so that projects that are 

most beneficial to the overarching vision 

and goals of the FS are supported and 

implemented. This plan accomplishes this 

by:

 Establishing long range goals and 

actionable objectives that reflect the 

overarching FS mission and vision

Identifying means to communicate 

needs and gaps to decision-makers

 Setting condition goals for Forest 

Highways

 Describing the desired future conditions 

of the FS transportation system

 Recommending that annual 

transportation funding decisions factor 

long range goals and objectives into the 

Capital Improvement Program (CIP) 

development process

 Using performance measures that 

embody LRTP goals and objectives to 

rate success over time

The LRTP complements the FS's 

transportation regulatory framework 

for the FS, while not adding redundancy. 

The LRTP integrates with existing 

transportation related regulations and 

planning processes by emphasizing 

projects and other efforts that support 

long range goals and objectives.

Alaska Region at a Glance

22.5 million acres

5.5 in Chugach and 17 in Tongass

3,777 road miles

84 in Chugach and 3,693 in Tongass

1,165 trail miles

510 in Chugach and 655 in Tongass

500 road bridges

6 in Chugach and 494 in Tongass

399 trail bridges

141 in Chugach and 258 in Tongass

206 marine access facilities

in Tongass

114 seaplane docks / floats / moorings

in Tongass

29 administrative and permitted helipad / helispots

6 tunnel/railroad entrances 

in Chugach

2 railroad whistle-stops 

in Chugach

Executive Summary
2 A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan

U.S. .Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

Plan Audience

This LRTP is written for several 

audiences including forest supervisors, 

regional leaders, national-level decisionmakers, and potential local and regional 

partners from governmental and nongovernmental organizations. Forest 

supervisors use this plan to determine 

which projects are supportive of long 

range FS priorities throughout the 

region. This plan may also be used as 

a springboard for forest supervisors 

to partner with outside agencies and 

discuss project needs of mutual interest. 

Regional level audiences use this plan 

to find alternative funding from Federal 

sources that are administered by the 

State of Alaska and others. Regional FS 

coordinators use this plan to factor long 

range goals and objectives into their 

funding decisions. The LRTP informs 

national leaders of the steps being taken 

by the Alaska Region to further national 

FS vision, missions, and goals. The plan 

is also a tool for communicating unmet 

mission-critical transportation needs; the 

unique aspects of travel, access, and other 

transportation issues faced in Alaska; 

and the Alaska Region’s foresight, need, 

and commitment to mission-critical goals. 

Potential partners may use this LRTP to 

identify projects of mutual interest. 

Priority Transportation System

This FS Alaska Region LRTP establishes 

a set of defining criteria, based on the 

mission, goals, and objectives described in 

Section 1.6. These criteria are intended to 

help guide the selection, prioritization, and 

funding allocation for the transportation 

system. They are intended to be applied 

to the current transportation system as 

recorded in the FS Transportation Atlas at 

the time of consideration.

This LRTP applies to a subset of 

transportation facilities including National 

Forest System (NFS) roads, NFS trails, 

and marine access facilities that are of 

greatest concern to the Alaska Region. 

Through the LRTP planning process, it 

was determined that projects involving 

these assets would have the greatest 

potential for achieving LRTP goals and 

objectives.

Alaska Federal Lands LRTP

In addition to being an LRTP for the FS Alaska Region, this 

plan is a “drop-down plan” to the Alaska Federal Lands 

LRTP. As a drop-down plan, this document elaborates 

upon topics discussed in the Alaska Federal Lands LRTP

with FS-specific details including baseline conditions, 

transportation needs and gaps, project selection 

processes, funding opportunities, and performance 

measures. This information allows the FS and Alaska 

Federal land management agency (FLMA) partners to 

identify gaps in the statewide transportation system 

serving Federal lands, to develop better interagency 

coordination, and to leverage funds to address high-level 

priorities of mutual interest. Like the Federal Lands LRTP, 

the FS Alaska Region LRTP is also a first-of-a-kind effort.

Alaska

Federal

Lands

LRTP

NPS FS BLM FWS
A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan 3

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

Needs and Gaps

Differences in funding needs and 

availability of funding create gaps in 

the ability of the FS to maintain and 

support its Alaska Region transportation 

system. Gaps are therefore present 

when transportation needs exceed the 

availability of funding. Limiting the impact 

of these gaps is a paramount concern for 

the FS and the long-term sustainability 

of the Alaska Region transportation 

system. In such an environment, it is 

essential to make optimal use of internal 

FS and Forest Highway appropriations in 

addition to finding other transportation 

funding streams (such as funds that apply 

to all FLMAs) and less common non-FS 

competitive funding and partnership 

funding opportunities. This LRTP 

provides strategies to limit the impact 

of funding gaps and to identify potential 

funding sources.

This LRTP identifies two primary 

transportation gaps: deferred 

maintenance and operational logistics. 

For Alaska Region FS roads and bridges, 

deferred maintenance based on national 

cost averages is estimated at $31 million 

and $13 million, respectively. With 

continued declines in road and bridge 

funding, deferred maintenance needs 

continue to accrue. The impacts of this are 

especially significant in the Alaska Region 

because communities embedded within the 

FS lands and other nearby communities 

use the FS transportation system for 

everyday travel. This is the case because 

in many areas there are no county or 

state highway connections so the FS 

bears the responsibility of keeping roads 

serviceable. Furthermore, subsistence 

users rely upon FS roads for access to 

hunting, fishing, and other subsistence 

activities.

Gaps are also present due to the 

geographic extent of Alaska Region lands. 

Due to the considerable size of the Alaska 

forests, operational movement within 

the forests is difficult, for example the 

Tongass National Forest spans an area 

larger than the state of Florida. This issue 

is compounded by the forests’ relatively 

few road assets. Furthermore, half of the 

Alaska Region is designated roadless. 

Because of the size and the limited road 

system, travel in most of Alaska for 

maintenance and reconstruction activities 

requires expensive air or water transport. 
FS
A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan 5

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

This U.S. Department of Agriculture, FS 

Alaska Region LRTP complements and 

strengthens the agency’s processes for 

transportation decision-making in Alaska. 

The plan ensures that transportation 

priorities and funding decisions are guided 

by FS long range goals and objectives, 

and projects that are the most effective 

in achieving desired future conditions 

are supported. The FS Alaska Region 

LRTP is also a companion document, 

or “drop-down” plan, to the multiagency Alaska Federal Lands LRTP. 

As a drop-down plan, this document 

provides FS-specific details to the Alaska 

Federal Lands LRTP regarding baseline 

conditions, identified deficiencies, system 

needs, project selection processes, and 

summary of possible funding sources. 

This information allows the other agencies 

participating in the Alaska Federal Lands 

LRTP to identify gaps in the statewide 

transportation system that serves Federal 

Lands and to develop better interagency 

coordination in leveraging project funds 

and addressing high-level priorities.

1.1 Purpose and Need

The purpose of this plan is to complement 

and strengthen transportation 

coordination and decisions by ensuring 

that transportation priorities and 

funding decisions are guided by long 

range goals and objectives, in addition to 

identified needs, to achieve desired future 

conditions. This plan accomplishes this by:

 Establishing long range goals and 

actionable objectives that reflect the 

overarching FS mission and vision

Identifying means to communicate 

needs and gaps to decision-makers

 Setting condition goals for Forest 

Highways

 Describing the desired future conditions 

of the FS transportation system

 Recommending that annual 

transportation funding decisions factor 

long range goals and objectives into the 

Capital Improvement Program (CIP) 

development process

 Using performance measures that 

embody LRTP goals and objectives to 

rate success over time

1.2 Audience

This LRTP is written for several 

audiences including forest supervisors, 

regional leaders, national-level decisionmakers, and potential local and regional 

partners from governmental or nongovernmental organizations. This LRTP 

is designed to support these different 

audiences in several ways, as described in 

the following subsections.

1.2.1 Forest Supervisors

Forest supervisors use the LRTP to 

determine which projects are supportive 

of long range FS priorities throughout 

the region. The LRTP also serves as a 

springboard for forest supervisors to 

partner with outside agencies to discuss 

project needs of mutual interest, such as 

sharing resources or addressing safety 

concerns with the public and regional 

entities.

1.2.2 Regional Level

The LRTP enables regional FS 

coordinators to factor long range goals 

and objectives into their funding decisions. 

The LRTP also enables regional leaders 

to find alternative funding from Federal 

sources that are administered by the State 

of Alaska and others.

1. Introduction
6 A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

1.2.3 National Level

The LRTP informs the development 

of national-level plans and programs 

by outlining long range transportation 

goals, objectives, and suggested actions 

in Alaska, while also documenting the 

steps being taken by the Alaska Region 

to further national FS vision, missions, 

and goals. This and other national-level 

planning efforts help communicate unmet 

mission-critical transportation needs to 

congressional leaders. The LRTP also 

helps communicate the unique aspects of 

travel, access, and other transportation 

issues being faced in the Alaska Region. 

The LRTP helps to illustrate FS foresight, 

need, and commitment to mission-critical 

goals, especially when projects are being 

pursued jointly with other agencies or 

organizations.

1.2.4 Potential Partners

Potential partners may use this LRTP to 

identify projects of mutual interest. The 

FS recognizes the value of cooperative 

transportation partnerships, and seeks 

to leverage FS funds with other Federal, 

State, and local agencies as well as 

Congress and user groups. The objective 

is to achieve the greatest benefit to the 

largest number of agencies, organizations, 

and goals as possible through shared 

projects.

Figure 1 

Forest Service Alaska Region

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A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan 7

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

1.3 Background

The FS mission is to sustain the health, 

diversity, and productivity of the nation’s 

national forests and grasslands to 

meet the needs of present and future 

generations. The FS motto is “caring for 

the land and serving people.” As set forth 

by law, the FS mission is to achieve quality 

land management under the sustainable 

multiple-use management concept to meet 

the diverse needs of people.

The Alaska Region of the FS manages 

two national forests: Chugach National 

Forest (Chugach) and Tongass National 

Forest (Tongass). Together, the forests 

cover more than 22 million acres and are 

the nation’s largest national forests. The 

expansive nature of these forests creates 

accessibility challenges for both the public 

and the FS. Unlike most other national 

forests, the transportation system in the 

vicinity of the Alaska forests is without 

county roads. This absence creates a 

unique situation where FS routes serve 

the role traditionally performed by 

county roads and provide access to and 

from communities. Further, relatively 

few FS routes are available compared to 

the extensive land areas of the Chugach 

and Tongass. As illustrated in Figure 1 

and Figure 2 (and as summarized in 

Chapter 3), FS roads are very limited in 

remote areas.

Trails are of particular importance to 

the FS transportation network. Trails 

serve traditional purposes such as 

recreation; however, in Alaska, they 

also support subsistence activities and 

are necessary for true non-recreational, 

origin-destination transportation. Travel 

often occurs by boat, aircraft, or other 

means to access or pass through remote 

FS land. Travel to and through Alaska 

FS lands is accessible through a unique 

multimodal transportation system. The FS 

transportation system, State highways, 

airports, docks, and the Alaska Marine 

Highway are the backbone of forest 

access. 

Figure 2 

Alaska Region National Forests

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Yakutat

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Skagway

Hoonah

Sitka

Tatitlek

Juneau

Anchorage

Petersburg

Cordova

Haines

Hyder

Gustavus

Pelican

Seward

Wrangell

Kake

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Prince Rupert

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8 A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

1.3.1 Chugach National Forest

Chugach is 50 miles south of Anchorage, 

Alaska’s most populous city. The forest 

stretches 200 miles from the Kenai 

Peninsula to the Bering Glacier east of 

Cordova. The forest has three distinct 

geographic areas: Prince William Sound, 

Copper River Delta, and the Kenai 

Peninsula, as summarized in Table 1. As 

summarized in Section 3.1, Chugach has 

a limited road network. Nevertheless, all 

roads (maintenance level three or higher) 

are considered important and, unlike 

forest roads elsewhere in the United 

States, timber activities have not been a 

major use factor.

1.3.2 Tongass National Forest

Tongass is located in southeast Alaska and 

features the world’s largest temperate 

rainforest. Almost half of Tongass is 

covered by ice, water, wetlands, and 

rock. The forest includes 11,000 miles 

of shoreline, numerous mountains, and 

is largely an undeveloped and isolated 

landscape. The Tongass boundary spans 

500 miles, covering about 80 percent of the 

Alaska Panhandle. The forest is unique 

in that cities and towns such as Juneau, 

Sitka, Ketchikan, Petersburg, and more 

than 25 other communities are embedded, 

or nearly surrounded, by the forest’s 

boundary. Because there are no county 

roads and only limited State highway 

connections, communities rely upon the 

FS transportation system for travel and 

access to hunting, fishing, and subsistence 

activities.

1.4 Forest Highways

An important aspect of the FS 

transportation system is the distinction 

between Forest Highways and all other 

FS roads. The term “Forest Highway” 

refers to a road under the jurisdiction 

of, and maintained by, a public authority 

and open to public travel. A public 

authority other than the Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA) Federal Lands 

Highway (FLH) Division, such as the 

Alaska Department of Transportation 

and Public Facilities (ADOT&PF), FS, 

or a local government, typically has 

jurisdiction over a Forest Highway. A 

Forest Highway may be comprised of 

several segments, each managed by a 

different authority. Generally, a Forest 

Highway must be in or adjacent to the 

national forest land; must be necessary 

to provide public access to and through 

the national forest; must be necessary 

for access to protect, administer, use, and 

develop national forest resources; must 

be open to public travel; and must provide 

a connection to other transportation 

systems (such as public roads or the 

Alaska Marine Highway system). Based 

on FLH Division data, 919 miles of Alaska 

roadway were designated as Forest 

Highways in 2010. This list of designated 

Forest Highways is not fixed, and routes 

can be added or removed. The Western 

FLH Division, Division Engineer, with 

concurrence from the FS and ADOT&PF 

designates Forest Highway routes. This 

trio of partners is called the Tri-Agency. 

Table 1

Chugach National Forest Geographic Areas

Land Area

Percent of 

Chugach 

National Forest

Geographic Landscape Communities

Prince William Sound 48% Forested islands, intricate coastlines, and 

tidewater glaciers Whittier, Valdez

Copper River Delta 31% Vast wetland habitats, mountains, and 

glaciers Cordova

Kenai Peninsula 21% Mountains, rivers, most accessible of the 

three areas

Seward, Girdwood, Hope, 

Cooper Landing
A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan 9

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

Forest Highways range from FS roads 

in rural areas to State roads that 

receive more intense use from nearby 

communities and urban areas. Forest 

Highways are intended to provide safe and 

adequate transportation for national forest 

visitors, subsistence users, recreationists, 

resource users, and others. Forest 

Highways also support rural, community, 

and regional economic development 

and facilitate tourism and travel. Forest 

Highways are particularly important in 

Alaska because national forests dominate 

the landscape in the southeastern portion 

of the State.

1.5 Alaska Federal Lands Long Range 

Transportation Plan

The Alaska Federal Lands LRTP was 

established because of Alaska’s reliance 

on a unique multimodal transportation 

system. This plan, unlike other regional 

or State LRTPs developed for Federal 

lands in the lower 48 States, focuses on 

the connectivity of public access to and 

through Federal lands using the various 

transportation modes to provide a unique 

and seamless experience across multiple 

land jurisdictions for local residents, 

out-of-state visitors, administrative, 

commercial, and subsistence uses.

The Alaska Federal Lands LRTP was 

also prepared to help foster partnerships 

among Alaska’s Federal land management 

agencies (FLMA) and others. As funding 

has become scarce and demand for the 

transportation system continues to grow, it 

has become increasingly important for the 

FS and other FLMAs to work together to 

assess needs, set priorities, and implement 

projects that provide public benefits while 

meeting fundamental program goals of the 

multiple agencies. This LRTP describes 

the process and provides guidance for 

coordinated planning and decision-making 

among FLMAs including the FS, National 

Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service, Bureau of Land Management 

(BLM), ADOT&PF, FHWA, Western 

Federal Lands (WFL) HighwayDivision, 

and Alaska Federal Aid Division Offices. 

The LRTP is intended to help these 

partners make mutually beneficial 

investment decisions for planning, safety 

management, preservation, construction, 

and other improvements related to the 

transportation system.

1.6 Plan Mission, Goals, Objectives, 

and Strategies

The FS Alaska Region LRTP mission, 

goals, and objectives presented in this 

document are intended to provide a 

long range perspective to the evaluation 

and selection of FS transportation 

improvement projects in Alaska. Through 

a collaborative effort involving multiple 

levels of FS staff, the FS developed 

these mission, goals, and objectives 

statements specifically for this LRTP. The 

statements are based on national-level 

vision and goals for the agency, but they 

also incorporate values of importance 

to the Alaska Region. These statements 

shaped the development, conclusions, and 

recommendations of this LRTP. 
10 A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

LRTP Mission

The mission of this LRTP is to create a highly relevant and effective transportation system to and through Alaska’s 

national forests in balance with the values of the FS and the transportation needs of the State and communities. 

Accessing National Forest lands for resource management, subsistence, recreation, and enjoyment is an integral 

part of the Alaskan heritage, culture, and economy. 

LRTP Goals and Objectives

The goals of this plan encompass five categories: preservation and sustainability; partnerships; safety; access; 

and environmental, natural, and cultural resources. Each goal includes distinct objectives and strategies that 

serve to further illustrate the intent of the goal. 

Goal 1: Preservation and Sustainability: Provide a sustainable transportation program to satisfy 

current and future land management needs in the face of changing climate.

Objective: Asset Management:  Use asset management objectives, condition information, and priorities as 

guide when considering transportation investments.

Strategy: Based on available funding and annual priorities, conduct Road Condition Surveys and 

update the corresponding annual and deferred maintenance data in the Infra Roads 

database. Continue to conduct Trail Condition and Assessment Surveys (TRACS) on 

a 5-year recurring cycle and record the corresponding inventory, prescription, and 

maintenance data in Infra trails database.

Strategy: Periodically, conduct and update asset life cycle cost estimates to support planning and 

programming asset renewal.

Objective: Asset Investment Planning:  Consider sustainability of out-year operation and maintenance of ne

assets during the planning process.

Objective: Hazard Avoidance:  Recognize, mitigate, and avoid or minimize conditions that jeopardiz

transportation assets.

Goal 2: Partnerships: Leverage resources to enhance benefits to transportation system users.

Objective: Partners:  Accomplish annual coordination by setting priorities for needs, exchanging data, an

discussing mutual policies to facilitate shared execution and potential economic savings for 

projects of mutual interest and benefit.

Strategy: Conduct project coordination meetings with Alaska FLMA, Tri-Agency Forest Highway 

Program, tribes, corporations, State, and user groups.

Strategy: Collaborate with other agencies and partners to share information and associated 

training opportunities for effective transportation planning and management.

Goal 3: Safety: Provide safe and agency-appropriate access to and through National Forest System lands.

Objective: Safety:  Transportation infrastructure will provide safe access for the public to and within th

National Forest System.

Strategy: Establish a safety management system which may include, but is not limited to: air, 

road, trail, and marine safety audits; motorized mixed-use analysis; review of accident 

information; emergency operations; and bridge inspections.

Strategy: Incorporate applicable safety standards in the design and construction of airstrips, 

docks, roads, trails, and bridges.

Goal 4: Access:  Proactively enhance the Alaskan multimodal transportation system experience

community connectivity, and access to and through National Forest System Lands.

Objective: Improve access:  Improve access to forests and connectivity through the forest betwee

communities.

Objective: Coordinated Planning: Strive for seamless multimodal connections to and through the National 

Forest System. 
A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan 11

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

Objective: Economic Development: Enhance economic development at the local, regional, and national level.

Objective: Alternative Transportation Systems: Develop and promote alternative transportation systems 

where appropriate.

Strategy: Incorporate air, road, trail, marine, rail, bus, bike, and pedestrian facilities where 

appropriate.

Objective: Visitor/User Information: Provide communication and outreach about transportation to and 

through the National Forest System. 

Strategy: Provide current and effective visitor use maps, kiosks, and webpage maps.

Goal 5: Environment, Natural and Cultural Resources:  Protect and enhance natural an

cultural resources through comprehensive transportation planning and management.

Objective: Planning at an Appropriate Ecosystem Scale: Consider effects of transportation systems on 

ecosystems.

Strategy: Improve fish crossing.

Objective: Physical Environment-Water Quality: Ensure protection of open water, wetlands, and aquifers 

across National Forest System. 

Objective: Air Quality: Maintain and improve air quality. 

Objective: Soils: Avoid or minimize impacts on karst and at-risk soil systems.

Objective: Habitat: Avoid, minimize, or mitigate transportation-related impacts.

Objective: Cultural Resources Preservation: Avoid or minimize impacts to culturally significant or historic 

sites and landscapes.

1.7 Long Range Transportation Plan 

Organization

This LRTP is presented in eight chapters, 

including this introduction. The LRTP is 

organized as follows: 

Chapter 2, Regulatory Framework and 

Planning, references the regulatory 

framework related to the Alaska FS 

transportation system. 

Chapter 3, Existing Transportation 

System, summarizes the existing 

transportation network and the current 

state of FS transportation assets. 

Chapter 4, Priority Transportation 

System, describes the long range goals for 

FS transportation assets and investments. 

The chapter also illustrates how FS 

transportation assets were selected for 

inclusion in the LRTP.

Chapter 5, Funding, summarizes the 

recent investment history for FS 

transportation projects in Alaska and 

discusses the funding gap between 

available funds and needed improvements 

to the FS transportation system. 

The chapter also identifies additional 

opportunities for funding through 

partnerships with other agencies.

Chapter 6, Needs and Gaps, describes 

where transportation needs exceed 

available funding. 

Chapter 7, Performance Measures, 

describes the use of transportation-related 

performance measures established in the 

FS strategic plan to gauge achievements 

in meeting long range transportation 

planning goals and objectives over time.

Chapter 8, Conclusion, summarizes the 

challenges, needs, and gaps facing the 

FS transportation system. The chapter 

also reiterates the value of addressing 

long range goals in transportation related 

decisions. 
12 A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

Brown bear and bald eagle fishing at Anan Creek Wildlife Viewing Site, Ashley Atkinson
A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan 13

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

Regulations are instrumental in defining 

the FS transportation system and 

providing the basis for transportation 

planning. The regulatory framework 

related to FS transportation planning 

is available in the Summary of FS 

Transportation Regulatory and Planning 

Framework report in Appendix A. The 

regulations, acts, and strategic plans 

described in the appendix shape the 

high-level definitions and purpose of the 

FS transportation system. As illustrated 

in Figure 3 for example, regulations 

influence the classification of roads and 

trails as documented in Forest Plans and/

or Access and Travel Management Plans 

(ATM plans). The resulting road and trail 

management objectives (which range from 

prohibiting use to encouraging use) and 

maintenance classifications (which define 

vehicle use types, among others) outline 

the purpose, role, and use for the FS 

transportation system within each Forest. 

These transportation assets compete 

for funds based on these classification 

attributes and the measures of eligibility 

and need described in Chapter 5. 

This LRTP serves to link long-term 

transportation goals and objectives into 

the various FS project selection processes.

2.1 Alaska Planning Framework 

The regulations and concepts described 

in Figure 3 are detailed in Appendix A. 

The appendix describes the following 

regulations and planning processes as 

they pertain to the Alaska Region FS 

transportation system:

 Regulatory Framework

 Forest Service Transportation System

 National Forest System Roads

 National Forest System Trails

 National Trails System Act

Travel Management Rule

Prohibitions

 Alaska National Interest Lands 

Conservation Act

 Roads to Resources

Planning Process

 Forest Service Strategic Plan

 Forest Management Plans

Transportation Planning Related 

Activities

 Access and Travel Management Plans

 State of Alaska Transportation Plans

2.2 Other Influences

In addition to specific regulations, the 

Alaska Region planning framework is 

influenced by other factors such as tribal 

government, public involvement, climate 

change, and the planning activities of 

others such as ADOT&PF.

2.2.1 Tribal Government

Chapter 1663 of the Forest Service 

Manual (FSM) outlines the FS policy on 

consulting with tribal governments prior 

to taking actions or formulating policies 

that may affect Federally recognized 

tribes, trust assets, treaty rights, services, 

or programs including FS transportation 

programs. The FSM objectives are:

 Develop and maintain effective working 

relationships with American Indian and 

Alaska Native Tribes taking into account 

the cultural concerns and interests of 

tribes.

 Ensure that FS officials, programs, and 

activities respect tribal self-government 

and sovereignty and honor tribal rights 

and interests.

2. Regulatory and Planning Framework 
14 A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

 Ensure consultation with tribes when 

undertaking the formulation and 

implementation of policies that may 

have tribal implications, as defined in 

Executive Order 13175, Consultation 

and Coordination with Indian Tribes.

 Establish and ensure effective 

government-to-government working 

relationships with tribes to achieve 

the common goal of promoting and 

protecting ecosystem health.

Figure 3 

National Forest System Road and Trail Planning and Regulatory Framework

FS Road/Trail 

Classification

Road and Trail Projects

FS/Non-FS

Project

Selection

Processes

FS

LRTP

Prohibitions

(36 CFR 261) Travel Management

Rule

(36 CFR 212)

ANILCA

Forest 

Transportation System

(66 FR 3219)

Forest Service 

Strategic Plan

Chugach

Classification made through 

Forest Plan/Access

and Travel Management Plan

Tongass

Classification made through 

individual sub-area 

Access and Travel Management Plans

Closure Roads:

Maint. Level 3,4, & 5

Trails:

Class 1 through 5

Roads:

Maint. Level 1 & 2

Road/Trail Classification Outcomes (by use)
A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan 15

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

Issued in May 2002, the Alaska Region 

Tribal Consultation Policy Statement 

recognized that many tribes have 

maintained strong legal and cultural ties to 

aboriginal lands now managed as FS lands 

and thereby have an interest in various 

FS programs such as transportation. 

Through this policy statement, the 

Alaska Region of the FS reconfirmed 

its commitment to develop strong 

partnerships with tribes to help fulfill 

its mission and responsibilities. To work 

toward achieving these ends, the region 

employs tribal relations staff to assist line 

officers and other employees in building 

positive working relationships with tribes 

through consultation, collaborative natural 

resource management, and partnership 

activity. Forests may collectively consult 

with up to 63 tribal entities consisting 

of both Federally recognized tribes and 

Alaska Native corporations.

The Alaska Tribal Leaders Committee 

consists of the Regional Forester’s 

executive team, four elected tribal 

delegates, and a Pacific Northwest 

Research Station representative. The 

Committee regularly engages in dialogue 

on matters of mutual importance, 

strengthening relationships and improving 

consultations. The Committee meets 

informally through a monthly conference 

call, and formally at an annual in-person 

meeting. Tribal delegates are invited to 

attend Forest Leadership Team meetings 

when they are held in a tribal delegate’s 

home community. 

The region created the Tribal Consultation 

Database to enhance the documentation 

of consultations and the continuity of 

discussions for transportation planning 

and projects. Following meetings with 

tribal leaders, FS staff enter records 

containing meeting notes and follow-up 

action items. Transparency is enhanced 

with a feature that generates email 

summaries, including a list of follow-up 

action items that may be sent to meeting 

participants. The email summaries help 

the meeting participants, FS staff, and 

tribal leaders move forward in a common 

direction. 

2.2.2 Public Involvement 

Public involvement conducted during 

transportation planning is perhaps best 

explained by distinguishing “policylevel,” “plan-level,” and “projectlevel” public involvement. Policy-level 

public involvement occurs during the 

development of forest plans, ATM plans, 

and LRTPs. Long-range policy plans 

provide guidance and direction for a 

transportation program in a big picture 

sense. Public involvement at this level 

is designed to capture public attitudes 

to help shape policy-level decisions. 

Because forest plans are considered major 

Federal actions significantly affecting 

the environment, they require an EIS 

as required by NEPA and 36 CFR 219. 

As such, public involvement conducted 

on behalf of these plans is consistent 

with the requirements of NEPA. Access 

and Travel Management plans require 

additional NEPA-level public involvement 

through an EIS if it is determined that the 

plan would cause significant impacts. For 

example, the Chugach ATM road analysis 

used an extensive public involvement 

process to understand public desires in the 

development of alternatives. The public 

involvement process used newsletters, 

public interdisciplinary team meetings, 

a website, telephone recordings, and 

collaborative learning workshops. 

Approximately 3,000 comments were 

received through this public involvement 

program.

Million Dollar Bridge and Childs Glacier, FS
16 A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

Plan-level public involvement occurs 

during development of shorter-term plans 

such as the FS 5 year CIP, Statewide 

Transportation Improvement Plan (STIP), 

metropolitan planning organization 

Transportation Improvement Programs 

(TIP), and the FLH Division TIP. Project 

level public involvement occurs when 

specific projects are being developed 

through NEPA. Project-level public 

involvement is typically the most intensive 

in terms of interface with the public; 

whereas plan-level involvement typically 

balances public and agency input, and 

policy-level involvement focuses more on 

agencies.

Public involvement conducted specifically 

for this plan was performed in parallel 

with the efforts of the Alaska Federal 

Lands LRTP. Numerous outreach tools 

were used during the development of the 

Alaska Federal Lands LRTP. Outreach 

tools ranged from passive informational 

resources such as newsletters and a 

website, to more formal briefings and 

presentations. Participation in the Alaska 

Federal Lands LRTP is documented in 

that plan.

Because this FS Alaska Region LRTP

reflects and builds upon the results of 

existing adopted plans, public input 

used in this LRTP was mainly gathered 

through the efforts of previous planning 

efforts described in the Summary of FS 

Transportation Regulatory and Planning 

Framework report in Appendix A. These 

plans adhere to both the National Forest 

Management Act of 1976, which requires 

public participation in land management 

planning as well as NEPA public 

participation requirements. LRTP-specific 

outreach was conducted in parallel with 

the Alaska Federal Lands LRTP planning 

effort.

2.2.3 Climate Change

Climate change threatens forest and 

grassland benefits such as provisioning 

services including water, wood, and wild 

foods; regulating services such as erosion, 

flood, and climate control; and cultural 

services such as outdoor recreation, 

spiritual renewal, and aesthetic 

enjoyment. The FS approach to climate 

change focuses on adaptation (actions that 

reduce the vulnerability of species and 

ecosystems to the effects of a changing 

climate) and mitigation (activities that 

directly reduce or offset the greenhouse 

gas emissions that lead to climate change). 

FS climate change information can be 

found on in the agency’s website (www.

fs.fed.us/climatechange/) as well as in the 

Climate Change Technical Report that 

accompanies the Alaska Federal Lands 

LRTP. This technical report identifies 

efforts underway and planned by each 

FLMA including the FS. The report also 

identifies areas of potential threat to 

Alaska FLMA transportation assets from 

erosion and changes in permafrost.

2.2.4 Southeast Alaska Transportation Plan 

Addendum

The ADOT&PF 2004 Southeast Alaska 

Transportation Plan includes a historic 

partnership between ADOT&PF and 

the FS. In the plan, the FS reserves 

34 essential transportation and utility 

corridors throughout the Tongass for 

ADOT&PF transportation and utility 

purposes. A subset of the miles from 

ADOT&PF were selected to be included 

in reciprocal rights-of-way and easements 

enacted into law 109-59 on August 10, 2005 

in Section 4407 of the Safe, Accountable, 

Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity 

Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEALU). An excerpt from the ADOT&PF 

plan is included in Appendix B. The 

selected content describes management 

prescriptions for transportation and 

utility systems as well as standards and 

guidelines for transportation. 
A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan 17

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

This chapter summarizes the current state 

of FS transportation assets and provides 

a brief overview of the FS transportation 

system. This information can be cited 

in future studies as a baseline condition 

to measure progress in achieving long 

range transportation goals and objectives. 

Maps of the Alaska Region transportation 

system are available in Appendix C.

3.1 Roads

A prerequisite for describing the 

FS transportation road system is 

understanding the various FS road 

classifications. As detailed in the FS 

Transportation Regulatory and Planning 

Framework Summary in Appendix A, 

Access and Transportation plans are 

critical components of FS transportation 

planning, and among many other 

functions, designate which roads are open 

to public motor vehicle use. Access and 

Transportation plans prescribe road uses 

by classifications, seasonal allowances, 

and distance allowances, and provide 

information on associated travel rules and 

regulations. Access and Transportation 

plans also categorize roads in terms of 

their maintenance level, trails in terms 

of their Trail Class or development scale, 

and characterize the intended intensity 

of use (from prohibit to encourage use). 

Definitions of the road maintenance levels 

are detailed in Appendix A, in Section 2.4. 

In general, the road maintenance levels 

are:

 Maintenance Level One: roads closed to 

vehicular traffic. 

 Maintenance Level Two: roads 

maintained for use by high clearance 

vehicles.

 Maintenance Level Three, Four, and 

Five: roads open and maintained for 

standard passenger vehicles.

The official inventory of NFS road, 

NFS trail and associated management 

objectives is documented in the Forest 

Transportation Atlas, as recorded 

in the agency’s Infra database and 

corresponding GIS transportation 

dataset. The atlas is updated as needed 

to reflect changes in inventory, status, 

and management objectives. Table 2 

summarizes the most recent Alaska 

Region Infra data on road miles by 

maintenance level.

The Tongass’ road network is more 

expansive than that of the Chugach. As 

summarized in Table 2, there are 2,359 

miles of open roads (1,334 miles of closed 

roads) in the Tongass. Based on 2010 FLH 

Division data, 430 miles of NFS roads are 

designated as Tongass Forest Highways 

while 296 miles of State roads are 

designated as Tongass Forest Highways. 

3. Existing Transportation System

Motor Vehicle Use Maps

These designated 

roads, trails, and 

areas for motor 

vehicle use are 

documented in motor 

vehicle use maps 

(MVUM). The MVUM 

displays official NFS 

roads and trails or 

areas designated 

as open to 

motorized travel. The MVUM also displays allowed uses 

by vehicle class (for example, highway-legal vehicles, 

vehicles less than 50 inches wide, and motorcycles), 

seasonal allowances, distance allowances, and provides 

information on other travel rules and regulations. Routes 

not shown on the MVUM are not open to public motor 

vehicle travel. Routes designated for motorized use may 

not always be signed, but they will be identified on the 

MVUM. It is the public’s responsibility to reference the 

MVUM to stay on designated routes for motor vehicle 

use. The MVUM is updated annually to correct mapping 

errors or discrepancies and to update travel decisions.
18 A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

Because the forest is located in an island 

archipelago, the network is dispersed. Due 

to the forest’s unique physical geography 

and extensive coastline, intermodal 

transportation provides access to and 

from water and land for Southeast Alaska 

communities. This intermodal access is 

relied upon by local populations for work, 

subsistence, recreation, and safety as well 

as access for thousands of out of state 

visitors.

State and Forest Highways are the 

backbone of the Chugach road system. 

There are 100 miles of State highways 

and 84 miles of NFS roads in Chugach. 

Of the total 184 miles of State and NFS 

roads, 135 miles are designated as 

Forest Highways. Most NFS roads are 

concentrated in valley floors. These roads 

generally access developed sites such as 

campgrounds, trailheads, boat ramps, 

administrative sites, roads built under 

special use permit, and roads developed 

for resource activities such as timber 

sales. Some of these roads are currently 

closed to vehicle travel but are available 

for non-motorized use. Most roads are 

gravel surfaced, receiving minimal annual 

maintenance beyond grading. Roads 

under special use permit are maintained 

by the permittee. Additionally, a 30 

mile road easement has been granted 

to ADOT&PF to construct the Carbon 

Mountain Road on the Copper River 

Delta. The Alaska Railroad line also runs 

through the Chugach for approximately 90 

miles between Girdwood and Seward.

3.2 Trails

As discussed in Chapter 1, trails are 

of particular importance to the FS 

transportation network because they 

serve recreational, subsistence, and 

mineral or hydrological exploration 

purposes. Trails are therefore more 

than recreational transportation assets; 

they provide for non-recreational origindestination travel. 

Trail Types

As detailed in the FS transportation regulatory and 

planning framework summary in Appendix A, the term 

“Trail Types” describe trail categories that reflect 

predominant trail surface and general modes of travel 

accommodated by a trail. Trail Types include:

Standard Terra Trail. A trail that has a surface consisting 

predominantly of the ground and that is designed and 

managed to accommodate use on that surface.

Snow Trail. A trail that has a surface consisting 

predominantly of snow or ice and that is designed and 

managed to accommodate use on that surface. 

Water Trail. A trail that has a surface consisting 

predominantly of water (but may include land-based 

portages) and 

that is designed 

and managed to 

accommodate use 

on that surface.

Chugach NF, 

C. Lindemuth, FS 

Table 2

National Forest System Roads

Unit Acres 

(million)

National Forest System Roads (Miles) 

Miles for Passenger 

Vehicles

Maintenance Level 3-5

Miles for High Clearance 

Vehicles

Maintenance Level 2

Miles Closed or in 

Storage

Maintenance Level 1

Total 

Miles of 

Road

Chugach 5.5 57 20 7 84

Tongass 17.0 439 1,920 1,334 3,693

Region 22.5 496 1,940 1,341 3,777

Source: Infra, September 2010.
A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan 19

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

Within each Alaska Region forest, trails 

have different characteristics. Due to the 

limited extent of the road system, NFS 

trails in the Chugach play a vital role 

in providing access to and through the 

Forest. As summarized in Table 3, the 

Chugach has 510 miles of trail, including 

more than 100 miles of Snow Trails, 

accessed by 30 trailheads along the road 

system and 1 via the Alaska Railroad. 

Trails and winter routes are often used 

for mining access and subsistence 

purposes, as well as recreation. Several 

trails provide intermodal opportunities 

to and between the road system, as well 

as to and between recreation sites and 

facilities. These include, but are not 

limited to the Iditarod National Historic 

Trail, the Resurrection Pass National 

Recreation Trail, Resurrection River 

Trail, Crescent Creek Trail, and Russian 

Lakes Trail. Nearly all of the cabins on 

the Kenai Peninsula are accessed by these 

trails. Other shorter trails access cabins 

in Prince William Sound and the Copper 

River Delta area. Motorized vehicles 

are generally not permitted on these 

trails in the summer. Snow machines 

may be allowed on certain snow trails in 

the winter. Five miles of trail have been 

constructed as part of the Whistle Stop 

Project, which will eventually include up 

to 30 miles of trail accessed primarily by 

the Alaska Railroad between Portage and 

Moose Pass. 

The Tongass contains 655 miles of trail, 

including 92 miles in Wilderness Areas 

and 34 miles of Snow Trails. The Forest 

currently designates 165 miles of these 

trails as motorized; however, this number 

could be 403 miles depending on updates 

to the MVUMs currently in progress. 

Due to the complex island system of the 

archipelago, many trails have trailheads 

at tidewater beaches, while others 

originate in communities or from the 

road systems. Some trails provide public 

access from road systems to tidewater. 

Many Tongass recreational facilities such 

as cabins and shelters are accessible only 

from roads or boat then via trails. Short 

trails accessed from beaches in remote 

areas of the Tongass are important access 

routes for cruise ship visitors. The level 

of Tongass trail development ranges 

from the minimally developed (Class 1) 

in designated wilderness and the more 

primitive areas, to fully developed (Class 

5) at visitor centers. As in the Chugach, 

trails are used for commercial access, 

subsistence purposes, and recreation.

3.3 Recreation Facilities

Recreation facilities throughout 

the Alaska Region are important 

transportation destinations. Access to 

and from recreation sites is therefore 

of particular interest when making 

transportation decisions (discussed in 

Chapter 4). Accordingly, 135 designated 

recreation facilities are in the Alaska 

Region forests. These locations are 

illustrated in Appendix C and Appendix D 

maps and are summarized in Table 4.

Table 3

National Forest Service Trails by Type and Class

Unit Total 

(miles)

Wilderness 

(miles)

Trail Type (miles) Trail Class* (miles)

Standard 

Terra Trail Snow Trail Water Trail TC1 TC2 TC3 TC4 TC5

Chugach 510 0 397 113 0 67 197 230 11 5

Tongass 655 92 621 34 0 46 179 400 27 3

Region 1,165 92 1,018 147 0 113 376 630 38 8

Source Data: FS fiscal year 2010 Trail Data Summery (Infra Trails 9/30/2010).

* Trail classes are detailed in Appendix A. In general Trail Class 1: Minimally Developed; Trail Class 2: Moderately Developed; 

Trail Class 3: Developed; Trail Class 4: Highly Developed; Trail Class 5: Fully Developed.
20 A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

3.4 Other Transportation-Related 

Assets

Transportation assets may also 

include assets that are supportive of 

transportation, even if they are not 

directly used for transportation. These 

assets are found throughout the Alaska 

Region and are summarized in Table 5. 

It should be noted that although Table 5 

shows 114 seaplane bases, a large 

portion of the forest lands are generally 

inaccessible to seaplanes and boats due to 

a lack of infrastructure such as floats, boat 

ramps, and docks.

Table 4

Recreation and Related Facilities

Recreation Facility Chugach Number of 

Facilities

Tongass Number of 

Facilities

Campgrounds 14 16

Cabins 41 151

Survival Shelters – 41

Picnic Areas 38 35

FS Facilities 17 –

Ranger District Offices 4 10

Trailheads 35 104

Boat Launches/Ramps 15 11

Mooring Buoys – 42

Developed Hot Springs – 3

Roadside Parks 4 –

Airstrips – 6

Forest/Region Headquarter Offices 1 3

Table 5

Other Transportation-Related Assets

Transportation Related Asset Chugach Number of 

Assets

Tongass Number of 

Assets

Marine Access Facility – 206

Road Bridges 6 494

Trail Bridges 141 258

Seaplane Docks/Floats/Moorings – 114

Administrative and Permitted Helipad/

Helispots 4 25

Railroad Whistlestop 2 –

Tunnel/Railroad Entrances 6 –
A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan 21

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

3.5 Forest Highways

Figure 4 illustrates the condition 

of Alaska’s paved Forest Highways 

illustrated in Figure 5 and Figure 6. 

Paved Forest Highways in Alaska meet 

the pavement condition goals that the 

FLH Division has established. Based 

on 2004 FLH Division Forest Highway 

Road Inventory data, 112 of 393 miles of 

Alaska Forest Highway are paved. Sixtyfive percent of those miles are in good 

or better condition, which exceeds the 

2004 FLH Division Strategic Plan goal of 

greater than 20 percent in good condition; 

92 percent are in good or fair condition, 

which exceeds the goal of greater than 

65 percent in fair or better condition; and 

8 percent are in poor condition, which 

meets the goal of 15 percent or less in poor 

condition. 

Figure 4 

Forest Highway Conditions

Source: Federal Lands Highway Roadway Inventory, 2004.

0%

80%

100%

40%

60%

20%

Baseline 

Condition 

Strategic 

Goal for 

Conditions

Good or Better Fair or Better Poor or Worse

65%

20%

92%

8%

Exceeding

Goal

Exceeding

Goal

Exceeding Goal

20%

20%65%

15%

Highway Authorization

As this Final FS Alaska Region LRTP effort concluded, 

the two-year highway authorization, Moving Ahead for 

Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) was signed 

into law. Although this law takes effect soon after 

the formal release of this LRTP, the high-level goals, 

recommendations, and actions (such as the FLH Division 

Forest Highway inventory) remain relevant under MAP-21. 

The next version or update of this LRTP will outline the 

connections between the FS Alaska Region's long-range 

vision for achieving desired future conditions and the 

current highway authorization in effect at that time.
22 A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

Figure 5 

Chugach Forest Highways

!(

!(

!(

!(

!(

!(

46

Seward

Whittier

Tatitlek

Chenega Bay

Chugach

National Forest

Anchorage

Valdez

Cordova

Kalifornsky

Kenai

Knik-Fairview

Homer

32

59

14

35

60

61

UV1

UV4

UV3

UV10

Gulf of Alaska

0 12.5 25 50

Miles

±

!( Ferry Terminal

Alaska Marine Highway

Railroad

Highway

River

Roads

Forest Highway Road

Forest Service
A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan 23

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

Figure 6 

Tongass Forest Highways

!(

!(

!(

!(

!(

!(

!(

!(

!(

!( !(

!(

!(

!(

!(

!(

!(

Gustavus

Tenakee

Tongass

National Forest

Sitka

Juneau

Skagway

Prince Rupert

Yakutat

Hollis

Wrangell

Angoon

Haines

Hyder

Hoonah

Ketchikan

Metlakatla

Pelican

$%1

$%37

$%97

$%10

$%8

$% $%7 3 $%2

$%97

$%16

43

55

10

51

40

02

07

06

16

13

54

42

53

44

47

39

58

37

UV7

9UV29

9UV37

0 25 50 100

Miles

±

British Columbia

Yukon Territory

Gulf of Alaska

!( Ferry Terminal

Alaska Marine Highway

Railroad

Highway

River

Forest Service

Roads

Forest Highway Road
24 A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

Tongass NF, Larry Dunham
A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan 25

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

This Forest Service Alaska Region LRTP

establishes a set of defining criteria, based 

on the mission, goals, and objectives 

described in Section 1.6. These criteria 

are intended to help guide the selection, 

prioritization, and funding allocation 

for the transportation system. They are 

intended to be applied to the current 

transportation system as recorded in the 

FS Transportation Atlas at the time of 

consideration.

This LRTP applies to a subset of 

transportation facilities including the 

NFS roads, NFS trails, and marine access 

facilities that are of greatest concern to 

the Alaska Region. Through the LRTP 

planning process, it was determined that 

projects involving these assets would have 

the greatest potential for achieving LRTP 

goals and objectives.

The defining criteria for the assets 

included in this LRTP are:

The Forest Highway system and FS 

maintenance levels three, four, and five 

NFS roads. These maintenance levels 

frequently access recreation areas, 

occasionally form loops popular for 

recreation, connect communities, or 

serve as the primary roads that provide 

access between communities and the 

national forest.

 Maintenance level two NFS roads that 

access cities, towns, and communities. 

The maintenance level two segments 

included in the plan either begin at 

marine access facilities or are associated 

with maintenance level three roads. 

 Maintenance level two NFS roads 

that access key recreation sites and 

subsistence areas. These roads are often 

short and are frequently maintained due 

to the amount of use they receive. 

 Marine access facilities that serve as 

links between islands, communities, and 

transportation systems; they are also 

primary access points for developed/

undeveloped popular remote use areas. 

These multimodal facilities link air, 

marine, and surface transportation 

modes ranging from foot traffic to major 

commercial transportation of goods and 

services. These facilities are of critical 

importance in island environments such 

as those in the Alaska Region.

 NFS trails that provide access to 

key recreation destinations, areas or 

facilities; provide popular throughaccess; or connect communities or 

adjacent lands with the national forest. 

Generally, this includes all Trail Class 

4 and 5 trails, most Trail Class 3 trails, 

and some Trail Class 2 trails.

 NFS trails that link communities 

through intermodal connectivity 

(i.e., Iditarod National Historic Trail, 

Resurrection Pass National Recreation 

Trail, Russian Lakes Trail, Resurrection 

River Trail, and Whistle Stop Glacier 

Discovery Trail)

 NFS trails that are accessible or that 

are intended to become accessible per 

FS Accessibility Guidelines.

 NFS trails that are essential for mining, 

subsistence access, commercial use, and/

or heavily used by the public.

Maps of the routes and facilities that meet 

these criteria at the time of publication of 

this LRTP are in Appendix D. Throughout 

the life of this LRTP, recognizing that 

the FS transportation system and 

corresponding management prescriptions 

are not static, it will be necessary to 

apply these criteria to the current Forest 

Transportation Atlas for NFS roads and 

NFS trails, as recorded in the agency’s 

Infra database and corresponding GIS 

transportation data.

4. Priority Transportation System
26 A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

Tongass NF, Mary Miller
A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan 27

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

Transportation investment decisions are 

heavily influenced by funding availability 

and regulatory requirements. Differences 

in funding availability and needs create 

gaps in the performance and continued 

maintenance of the FS transportation 

system. Limiting these gaps is therefore 

a paramount concern for the FS and the 

long-term sustainability of the Alaska 

Region transportation system. In such 

an environment, it is essential to make 

optimal use of internal FS and Forest 

Highway appropriations in addition to 

seeking other transportation funding 

streams (funds that apply to all FLMAs) 

and less common non-FS competitive 

funding and partnership funding 

opportunities. Chapter 5 summarizes 

these funding sources and documents the 

downward trend of funding.

5.1 Historic Forest Service 

Construction and Maintenance 

Funding

The FS internal Capital Improvement 

and Maintenance for Roads funding 

is distributed nationally based on an 

allocation formula. A new version of the 

formula was implemented in 2005, and 

since then, road funding has decreased 

by more than 50 percent. As shown in 

Figure 7, funding exceeded $20 million in 

2005, but dropped to less than $7 million 

in 2011. If continuously implemented, the 

current allocation model will eventually 

yield $3 million for the Alaska Region. 

This level of funding is inadequate to 

support a basic annual road maintenance 

program and does not provide funds 

to address larger maintenance or 

construction projects. As a result, the 

Alaska Region has had to reduce capital 

improvement projects and focus on the 

annual routine maintenance of roads 

and bridges for a minimum amount of 

roadways. 

5. Funding

Figure 7 

Internal Road Construction and Maintenance Funding Levels

$0

$20

$25

$10

$15

$5

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Funding (in millions of $)
28 A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

Figure 8 

Transportation Appropriations

Due to these funding gaps, and in an effort 

to reduce overall road system operational 

costs, roads were identified through the 

public ATM planning process described in 

Appendix A as high priority and needed 

for long-term access to national forest 

lands. Roads not needed for access were 

identified for storage or decommissioning 

as a cost-saving measure. In 2008, 

Capital Improvement and Maintenance 

for Legacy Roads and Trails funding 

was made available for road storage and 

decommissioning projects.

The region receives Capital Improvement 

and Maintenance for Trails funding, 

which covers planning, design, and 

maintenance. Nevertheless, the bulk of 

trail capital improvement comes from 

other appropriated sources.

Maintenance funding for FS 

infrastructure (roads, trails, and facilities) 

is not on pace with maintenance needs. 

Further, funds used for maintenance 

are also used for decommissioning, 

emergency repairs, spill cleanups, energy 

conservation measures, and construction 

improvements. As a result, a significant 

amount of annual maintenance has been 

deferred over time. The Alaska Region 

therefore focuses available funding on 

critical deferred maintenance projects 

that relate to protecting health and safety, 

sensitive natural resources, and similar 

high-priority projects while continuing to 

defer other annual maintenance.

Road and bridge deferred maintenance 

based on National Cost Averages is 

estimated at $31 million and $13 million, 

respectively. In 2009, the Alaska Region 

identified the minimum road system, as 

described in Appendix A. This minimum 

system is determined to be a base system 

necessary to meet resource and other 

management objectives at a level that 

is statutory and regulatory acceptable 

and that meets long-term funding 

expectations. 

The region also uses the CIP, Recreation 

Site Improvement Program, American 

Recovery & Reinvestment Act, and 

Federal Highway Funding to address 

projects that have priority needs and 

to address deferred maintenance. 

Deferred maintenance reduction is 

especially challenging for Alaska because 

construction costs are high, and the 

locations of many sites are remote which 

increases mobilization costs.

Figure 8 illustrates streams of 

appropriated transportation funding 

available to the FS from 2004 to 2011. 

The FS Road funding amounts vary by 

year because the FS occasionally receives 

specially appropriated funds. The Forest 

Highway funds shown were used on state-, 

city-, and FS-owned roads. 

$0

$20

$25

$30

$35

$10

$15

$5

Forest 

Highway

Legacy 

Roads 

and Trails

FS Trails

FS Roads

Funding (in millions of $)

2004

$19.0

$4.4

$9.7

2005

$19.8

$3.8

$9.0

2006

$16.4

$3.4

$9.6

2007

$11.1

$3.2

$10.2

2008

$13.4

$0.7

$3.6

$10.4

2009

$10.4

$0.8

$3.6

$17.7

2010

$9.3

$3.0

$3.6

$11.6

2011

$6.9

$0.7

$3.7

$13.8
A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan 29

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

5.2 Funding Opportunities

The FS has several internal and 

external sources available for funding 

transportation projects. This section 

describes these sources as well as the 

types of projects that are eligible for 

funding. For some funding sources, project 

selection processes are also described.

5.2.1 Forest Service Internal Funding

For internal funding sources, the Alaska 

Region, Regional Office of Engineering 

and Recreation develops a 5-year 

plan of work to identify and program 

funds for transportation (and other 

facility) projects. To the extent possible, 

projects are scheduled for funding and 

implementation in the rank order shown 

on the CIP project priority list. The region 

has established agreements outlining the 

processes and procedures to guide road 

and trail projects through development, 

evaluation, and project ranking. It should 

be noted that although numerous funding 

sources are available nationally, the Alaska 

Region does not traditionally fare well 

in nationally competitive funding due to 

its relatively undeveloped transportation 

system.

Several FS-specific funding programs 

are available to FS transportation 

projects. These funding programs and 

their applicability (listed in Table 6) 

are described in detail in the following 

subsections.

Table 6

Forest Service Internal Transportation Funding Programs

Funding Programs

Project Type

RoadsParkingBridgeDrainage/Slope StabilizationTrailsMarineWildlife CrossingInterpretation

Capital Improvement and Maintenance – Roads X X X X X X X X

Capital Improvement and Maintenance – Trails X X X X X

Capital Improvement and Maintenance – Legacy 

Roads and Trails X X X X X X X

National Forest Recreation, Heritage, and 

Wilderness X

Road Aquatic Species Passage X X X

Federal Highway Public Roads Transportation 

Planning Program X X X X X X X X

Deferred Maintenance and Infrastructure 

Improvement X X X X X X X X
30 A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

Capital Improvement and Maintenance – 

Roads 

Traditionally, road funds were authorized 

for construction improvements including 

new roads. Recent declines in the 

availability of road funds, however, 

require that all road funds be allocated to 

maintaining the existing road system. In 

fiscal year 2011 the initial FS Washington 

Office direction, at the request of the 

Office of Management and Budget, 

specified that, “no funding was requested 

in the fiscal year 2011 President’s Budget 

for the capital improvement of roads. 

All new road improvement work must 

be deferred pending an appropriation, 

at which time further guidance will be 

given.” 

Capital Improvement and Maintenance – 

Trails 

Regions are encouraged to use these 

limited funds to increase opportunities 

with trail partners in the maintenance 

and improvement of trails. The trails 

program in fiscal year 2011 was used 

for administration, maintenance, and 

improvement of NFS trails.

Capital Improvement and Maintenance – 

Legacy Roads and Trails 

These funds are used to meet critical 

deferred maintenance, decommissioning, 

and repair needs on system roads and 

trails. Projects selected for these funds 

are focused on roads and trails that 

contribute to water quality problems. 

Based on a formula, the region received 

about $1 million from this program in 

fiscal year 2011. Most of the funds are 

focused toward implementing ATM plans 

and storing and decommissioning roads. 

These funds may be combined with other 

program budgets in fiscal year 2012.

Road Aquatic Species Passage 

This program, authorized under 23 U.S.C. 

204, is specifically provided for passage 

of aquatic species beneath roads that 

are designated as Forest Highways or 

forest roads with a maintenance level of 

three or higher. Final project selection is 

performed at the FS Washington Office in 

consultation with the FLH Division. 

Federal Highway Public Roads Transportation 

Planning Program 

Funding through this program is 

authorized under 23 U.S.C. 204(i)(2) for 

roads open to passenger vehicles for 

planning activities, traffic counts, and 

safety, bridge, and pavement management 

systems.

Deferred Maintenance and Infrastructure 

Improvement 

Deferred Maintenance and Infrastructure 

Improvement funds are used for the 

maintenance of roads, trails, trail 

bridges, and facilities as well as capital 

improvements that construct new 

transportation infrastructure, alter 

existing infrastructure to change its 

function, and expand upon existing 

infrastructure to increase capacity. 

Projects funded under this program 

are evaluated on a national scale and 

prioritized for funding using criteria 

that ensure the most critical health and 

safety infrastructure needs will be met, 

particularly in areas that are heavily used 

by the public and FS. The Alaska Region 

does not typically succeed in competition 

for these funds. 
A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan 31

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

Prioritizing Internal Funding

The Alaska Region manages a prioritized 

5-year CIP plan to identify, prioritize, 

and program funds for transportation 

and other facility projects. To the 

extent possible, projects are scheduled 

for funding and implementation in the 

ranked order identified on the regional 

CIP project priority list. The region 

develops and establishes processes to 

guide road and trail projects through the 

development, evaluation, and ranking 

of CIP projects. The process, which is 

currently undergoing review and update 

generally includes the following steps:

If new projects are needed, the Alaska 

Region prepares a call letter to District 

Rangers requesting the submittal of 

new or updated project applications that 

address identified evaluation factors 

and provide a supporting statement for 

each applicable factor. The five factors 

currently used are summarized below.

 Human Health, Safety, and Legal. 

Identification of risk factors associated 

with a site/facility, description of the 

consequences or resulting change 

in risk exposure if the proposal is 

not implemented, and identification 

of unmet standards and/or legal 

requirements.

 Deferred Maintenance. Description 

of deferred maintenance work that 

will reduce or eliminate deferred 

maintenance needs associated with an 

existing route or facility as reported in 

the Infra database, and identification 

of the amount of deferred maintenance 

retirement that will result from 

implementation of the proposed project.

Watershed, Riparian, Biologic, and 

Ecosystem Impacts. Documentation 

and quantification of how a project 

would address the Natural Resource 

Agenda for healthy watersheds, 

ecosystems, and associated resources 

such as plants, fish, and wildlife (e.g., 

acres of disturbed soils or re-vegetation, 

miles of trail rerouted, tons of sediment 

reduced, acres of wetland restored, and 

miles of fish habitat reconnected, etc.).

Strategic Focus. This evaluation factor 

can be used to address current regional 

leadership concerns. This LRTP’s goals 

are included in the strategic focus for 

road projects. Other strategic focus 

items may change annually. For the 2009 

CIP submittals, emphasis was placed on 

four areas, one of which was related to 

ATM plans, including decommissioning 

roads. 

 Other Considerations. Identification 

of project elements not included under 

other evaluation factors.

Units then submit transportation and 

facility CIP proposals, which include 

itemized cost estimates; a project map; 

and a narrative description describing 

utilization, administrative considerations, 

resource opportunities, anticipated 

management or resource problems, design 

elements, historic eligibility, mission 

dependency, and annual operation and 

maintenance costs. 

A regionally representative team then 

ranks CIP proposals using a structured 

decision-making process. The Regional 

Office Engineering and Recreation units 

determine the mix of funding eligibility 

for each project. The region submits 

the top ranking Road Aquatic Species 

Passage and Deferred Maintenance and 

Infrastructure Improvement projects 

to the Washington office for national 

competition. Because the legacy roads 

and trails funding has additional project 

selection and program priorities, Regional 

Office staff from the transportation, 

trails, and fisheries and watershed groups 

rank the eligible legacy roads and trails 

projects.

5.2.2 External Forest Highway Program

The Forest Highway Program (described 

in Section 1.4) is an important component 

of the FS transportation system. Most 

roadway construction funding in the 

Alaska Region comes from the Forest 

Highway Program, which is managed by 

the Tri-Agency.
32 A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

Since 1993, the Forest Highway 

Program has funded about $154 million 

of transportation projects improving 

approximately 109 miles of Alaska’s Forest 

Highways. Through the Federal tax on 

gasoline, the Alaska Forest Highway 

Program provides approximately $9.6 

million of Federal transportation funding 

to Alaska each year (in addition to the 

approximately $325 million annually of 

Federal-aid funds to ADOT&PF). 

The process for identifying and selecting 

projects that will receive Forest Highway 

Program funding involves a partnership 

among the Tri-Agency. The Forest 

Highway Program project development 

process is shown in Figure 9, and consists 

of the following steps:

Figure 9 

Forest Highway Program Development Process

Tri-Agency decides

when a call for

projects is needed

ADOT&PF

issues

call for projects

Forest Service,

States, Counties,

and others

prepare proposals

Tri-Agency ranks

proposals based on set

criteria

Put Project on multiyear program

Drop project

Do project 

identification report

(gather data, do field

review, do cost

estimate)

No

No

No

Yes PIR not needed

Yes 

PIR needed

Yes

Yes

PROGRAM

MEETING

Does the project

advance?

PROGRAM

MEETING

Does the project

advance?

Drop project

Project Development

work proceeds

Deliver Program as

scheduled

Tri-Agency agrees on

program change

Tri-Agency modifies

multi-year program

Is there a

need to change

funding and/or

schedule?

Tri-Agency approves

project and puts on

multi-year program

FHWA

puts approved

projects in the FH-TIP

1

2 3 4 5

6 7
A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan 33

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

 Tri-Agency decides when a call for 

projects is needed.

 ADOT&PF issues the call for projects.

 Project proposals are prepared and 

submitted by the FS, municipal, 

borough, tribal governments, 

ADOT&PF, and individuals. Project 

proposals are submitted on specific 

forms to the Tri-Agency and must 

have a public agency sponsor 

guaranteeing maintenance. 

 The Tri-Agency ranks project 

proposals using established criteria; 

low-ranking projects may be dropped 

at this point, depending on available 

funding.

 If needed, a project identification 

report is prepared to scope the project 

and its potential impacts, issues, 

and cost. Projects that have limited 

impacts or very basic scopes of work 

may not need a project identification 

report. The scoping report is also 

used to help define the purpose and 

preliminary scope, schedule, and 

budget of and need for the project 

information report project.

 Based on the scoping reports, the TriAgency drops or adds projects to the 

Forest Highway Program in priority 

order. 

 WFL Division puts the Tri-Agencyapproved projects on its TIP, and 

ADOT&PF includes the program in 

the STIP. 

The Tri-Agency estimates the amount 

of funding available to the program and 

evaluates how well the Forest Highway 

Program is achieving its performance 

targets to determine when to request a call 

for projects. The Forest Highway Program 

development process shown in Figure 9 

uses a Tri-Agency-approved selection 

criteria that incorporates criteria from 

23 CFR 660 when selecting the projects. 

The selection criteria are: 

The development, use, protection, and 

administration of the national forest 

transportation system and its resources

The enhancement of economic 

development at the local, regional, and 

national level, including tourism and 

recreational travel

The continuity of the transportation 

system serving the national forest 

transportation system and its dependent 

communities

The mobility of the users of the 

transportation system and the goods and 

services provided

The improvement of the transportation 

system for economy of operation and 

maintenance and the safety of its users

The protection and enhancement of the 

rural environment associated with the 

national forest transportation system 

and its resources

The inventory results for Forest 

Highways from the pavement, bridge, 

and safety management systems

 Region-specific emphases (such as 

Alaska’s emphasis on partnership)

The Alaska Tri-Agency has latitude 

to emphasize and expound upon one 

or more of these FHWA criteria. The 

Alaska Forest Highway Program 

therefore uses a funding and investment 

strategy that emphasizes the “best” of 

proposed projects—best of safety, best 

of asset management, best of economic 

development, best of mobility, and best 

of environmental quality. For example, 

a proposed safety project will compete 

evenly with a proposed economic 

development project, and a proposed 

asset management project will compete 

with a proposed mobility project. 

Project proposals that demonstrate how 

the project will address several of the 

investment guidelines will generally rank 

higher than other proposals. The Alaska 

Tri-Agency defines the “best” projects as 

ones that:
34 A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

 Address a documented condition 

requiring relief (i.e., meets the stated 

purpose and need)

 Are consistent with transportation 

planning for that corridor (e.g., forest 

plan, LRTP, borough transportation 

system plan)

Truly balance the objectives of 

transportation and land management

Provide an opportunity for Alaska 

Forest Highway Program funds to 

be used where other funding is less 

available or other funding has not yet 

addressed the condition

5.2.3 Forest Service External Funding

Because this document is a companion 

piece to the Alaska Federal Lands LRTP, 

funding sources identified in that plan 

are relevant to the FS as supplemental 

funding sources to be pursued when 

projects meet funding program 

requirements. Chapter 4 of that LRTP 

should be referred to for identifying 

possible funding sources for eligible FS 

projects. 

5.3 Planning Horizons

This LRTP recognizes that the Alaska 

Region FS has existing short- and longterm planning goals. The sections below 

summarize general transportation goals 

already considered in planning horizons.

5.3.1 Region

The following short- and long-term goals 

identify highest priorities for the Alaska 

Region as a whole:

 Develop a cohesive interagency 

transportation system management 

plan to maximize collaborative efforts 

to increase efficiency and reduce 

operational costs.

Implement transportation system cost 

sharing in management of connected 

transportation systems to improve 

efficiencies, upgrade services and 

increase cost effectiveness. 

 Manage transportation systems to meet 

society’s needs for a variety of goods, 

services, and amenities while enhancing 

the health and productivity of national 

forests.

 Base transportation management 

decisions and actions on ecological 

principles, sound practices, and the best 

available scientific information.

Promote strong community involvement 

in FS transportation decisions with full 

communication and assist communities 

in designing and implementing 

transportation projects that benefit their 

residents where possible.

Increase accessibility of a full range 

of transportation infrastructure and 

services to a wide spectrum of people 

including underserved and low-income 

populations.

5.3.2 Chugach

In addition to the Alaska Region planning 

priorities, the Chugach identifies three 

additional items:

Implement ATM plans to provide 

motorized and non-motorized access to 

and through the forest.

 Support developed and dispersed 

recreation facilities, wildlife and fish 

viewing sites, and trails with associated 

transportation systems that are 

appropriate to the recreation settings, 

to meet demand for a diverse array of 

recreational opportunities.

 Foster and build positive working 

relationships with Alaska Natives and 

their involvement in FS transportation 

programs and decision-making.

5.3.3 Tongass

In addition to the Alaska Region planning 

priorities, the following Tongass-specific 

goals identify needs over a 20-year horizon 

that will complete transportation links 

between communities, improve access 

to the national forest, and maximize 

intermodal access. These items include: 
A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan 35

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

 Establish and maintain external 

collaborative transportation 

partnerships.

Work to create a future where the FS 

works more closely with communities, 

particularly those that are historically 

forest-dependent and adjacent to the 

forest, to help them achieve community 

transportation goals, manage change, 

and improve their quality of life. All 

such actions are consistent with the 

responsibility to sustain the long-term 

health of the land. 

 Assist communities to design and 

implement transportation projects that 

benefit their residents.

 Continue to develop the transportation 

infrastructure necessary to support 

industries that will improve 

unemployment rates and per capita 

wage and salary income in southcentral and southeast Alaska for natural 

resource-based industries.

 Help rural communities, tribal 

governments, and private landowners 

increase their ability to adapt to 

economic, environmental, and social 

change related to natural resource 

management through transportation 

access.

 Support developed and dispersed 

recreation facilities, wildlife and fish 

viewing sites, and trails with the 

associated transportation systems 

appropriate to the recreation settings, to 

meet the demand for a diverse array of 

quality recreational opportunities.

 Foster and build positive working 

relationships with Alaska Natives and 

their involvement in FS transportation 

programs and decision-making.

Increase the number of transportationrelated memoranda of understanding, 

agreements, protocols, interactive 

meetings in tribal villages, common 

ground conferences, forums, and 

workshops initiated and developed, and 

the results from these.

The sections below identify the highest 

priority goals for the Tongass over the 

next 10 years by topic area:

Safety Management

Improve safety.

 Develop and implement a management 

system that is proactive and data-driven.

Take a risk management approach to 

safety by using road safety audits.

 Assess and predict the potential 

causes of accidents and work towards 

prevention. 

Planning

 Develop, update, and implement ATM 

plans. Coordinate with other Federal 

agency and State area transportation 

planning efforts.

Public Access

 Reduce deferred maintenance on 

community connection road systems by 

50 percent within the next 10 years.

 Convert ownership of multimodal floats 

and docks associated with State of 

Alaska Land Selection Subdivisions to 

ADOT&PF ownership. 

 Eliminate deferred maintenance on 

existing multimodal transportation 

access points (marine access facilities) 

over 10 years.

 Upgrade over a 10-year timeframe all 

currently operational (85 sites) marine 

access facilities in the national forest 

that provide intermodal access from 

developed communities to remote 

locations to ensure site capacity is 

adequate to meet projected needs. 

 Upgrade all maintenance level three 

community-connected roads in Tongass 

to meet American Association of State 

Highway and Transportation Officials 

very low volume road standards for 

public safety. 
36 A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

Anan Wildlife Observatory, Tongass NF, FS
A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan 37

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

Gaps in the Alaska Region FS 

transportation system are present 

when transportation needs exceed the 

availability of funding. Two primary 

transportation gaps are identified in 

this plan: deferred maintenance and 

operational logistics. 

6.1 Deferred Maintenance Gap

The leading gap in the FS transportation 

system is the accumulation of deferred 

maintenance. Due to the reductions 

in transportation funding discussed in 

Section 5.1, not all maintenance activities 

are performed when needed. When 

maintenance activities are postponed, 

deferred maintenance accumulates and 

transportation systems deteriorate. 

The Alaska Region has a multiple-year list 

of capital improvement projects to reduce 

the deferred maintenance backlog. In 

response to the Office of Management and 

Budget objective of reducing the deferred 

maintenance backlog by 25 percent, the 

Alaska Region directs funds toward 

targeting deferred maintenance.

Several areas are particularly affected 

by deferred maintenance, namely access 

to telecommunication towers, roads, 

bridges, and marine access facilities. 

Telecommunications mainly consist of 

field communications, which in Alaska are 

critical to the FS mission accomplishment, 

employee safety, and oftentimes public 

safety in extremely remote areas with no 

other communications systems in place. 

Without these systems, field work in the 

extreme field conditions of southeast 

and south central Alaska cannot be 

accomplished. Many of these mountain top 

facilities have had little to no maintenance 

since originally constructed. Currently 

there is more than $1 million in deferred 

maintenance associated with these 

facilities, which range from minor items to 

new shelters and associated helipads for 

transportation access to the sites. 

For State of Alaska FS roads and bridges, 

the deferred maintenance based on 

National Cost Averages is estimated at 

$31 million and $13 million, respectively. 

With the declining internal road and 

bridge funding discussed in Chapter 5, 

funding is focused on annual maintenance, 

while deferred maintenance continues to 

increase. The issue is compounded because 

embedded communities lack county 

road departments, and in some cases no 

State highway connections, therefore the 

FS bears the burden of keeping roads 

serviceable most of the year. Residents in 

southeast Alaska who live a subsistence 

lifestyle rely upon NFS roads for access to 

hunting, fishing, and subsistence activities.

As discussed in Section 3.4, one of the 

primary components of the Tongass 

transportation system is its Marine Access 

Facilities. The forest contains 206 of these 

sites, which provide primary access from 

the water to land in an island archipelago. 

Use of these sites for safe boat anchorage 

and road access for recreation and 

subsistence activities continues to 

increase. Some float structures designed 

for boats have up to 20 boats rafted to 

them during inclement weather and 

seasonal use periods. These types of 

facilities are not tracked in FS national 

programs; nevertheless, the Tongass 

provides funding to accomplish the 

maintenance and reconstruction needed 

to ensure these key transportation links 

are safe and operational. Site repairs and 

reconstruction have been supplemented 

by timber sales in the past, but with 

the decline of the timber industry in 

Southeast Alaska, the FS is relied upon 

for maintenance and reconstruction of 

these sites.

6. Needs and Gaps
38 A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

6.2 Operational Logistics Gap

Because the Tongass is a massive forest–

spanning an area larger than Florida– 

operational movement within the forest 

is difficult. This issue is compounded by 

the forest’s relatively few road assets 

(in comparison to its size). Further, half 

of the Alaska Region is in Inventoried 

Roadless Areas. Because of the size and 

the limited road system, travel in most 

of Alaska Region for maintenance and 

reconstruction activities requires air or 

water transport. Charter aircraft can cost 

as much as $600 per hour, resulting in site 

visits costing in the thousands of dollars 

due to the remoteness of projects. Remote 

camps, required at many locations, are 

project supported, further increasing 

operational costs. Safety issues from 

inclement weather can increase stays 

and cause additional expenses for project 

support. Travel for national meetings, 

annual training, and even within Alaska 

can cost up to $3,000 per week per 

employee. 

Mobilization to remote locations for 

construction activities requires barges, 

landing craft, and cranes to transport and 

offload equipment and materials. Shipping 

to remote locations further increases field 

repair costs. Fuel must be barged and 

stored on site with detailed fuel transfer 

and storage measures to protect the 

marine environment. If diesel is available 

in nearby communities, it is typically 

expensive. The Transportation Security 

Administration requires that blasting 

agents be shipped separately from 

equipment and fuels, requiring multiple 

barges for most construction projects. 

As a result, construction bonding cost 

increases further exacerbate construction 

costs.

Mendenhall Glacier, Tongass, James Metcalf/iStockPhoto
A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan 39

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

7. Performance Measures

This LRTP uses transportation-related 

performance measures established in 

the FS strategic plan, as discussed in 

Chapter 2. These measures describe 

desired or target performance against 

documented performance in regularly 

updated FS datasets. These performance 

measures relate to long range goals one, 

two, and four as documented in Chapter 

1 of this plan. Table 7 indicates USDA 

Forest Service Strategic Plan: Fiscal Year 

2007-2012 performance measures, target 

performance, and a baseline performance.

To meet these performance measures, 

FS regions are assigned targets for the 

following:

 Miles of passenger car system roads 

receiving maintenance.

 Miles of high clearance system roads 

receiving maintenance.

 Miles of road decommissioned.

 Miles of passenger car system roads 

improved.

 Miles of high clearance system road 

improved.

 Miles of system trail maintained.

 Miles of system trail improved. 

In addition, the FS has performance 

measures that do not contribute to the 

targets, but the accomplishments are still 

recorded, and performance is monitored 

for the following:

 Bridges constructed or reconstructed.

Percentage of bridges maintained in a 

safe condition for public use.

Percentage of roads intended for 

passenger car vehicles that are operated 

for passenger car vehicles.

 Number of stream crossings constructed 

or reconstructed to provide for aquatic 

organism passage.

 Rights-of-way acquired to provide public 

access.

 Miles of system trail meeting standards.

Table 7

Performance Measures

Performance Measure Baseline (2006) Target (2012)

Percentage of road system intended for passengercar use that is suitable for passenger-car use 29% 75%

Percentage of trails that meet national quality 

standards 60% 60%
40 A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

Cruise ship at Tracy Arm, Teresa Haugh
A Drop-Down Plan to the Alaska Federal Lands Long Range Transportation Plan 41

U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan

8. Conclusion

There are gaps between the needs of the 

Alaska Region transportation system and 

the funding available to address those 

needs. Regardless, the FS continues 

to manage transportation systems and 

access to forest resources including 

tourism, recreation, and subsistence. FS 

transportation decision-makers strive 

to prioritize and focus funds on projects 

that provide the greatest benefit to 

both the FS and the users of the NFS 

transportation system. In addition to 

using existing funds wisely, transportation 

decision-makers are beginning to look to 

leverage scarce transportation funds by 

developing partnership projects where 

feasible. This LRTP is designed to assist 

managers with the information required to 

achieve the greatest benefit to the largest 

number of goals and objectives held by the 

FS. This LRTP’s connection to the Alaska 

Federal Lands LRTP provides additional 

assistance in finding partnerships that not 

only leverage funds to implement projects 

of common interest, but also to achieve 

goals and objectives that benefit multiple 

FLMAs.
U.S. Forest Service

Alaska Region Long Range Transportation Plan