Hunting Guide Capacity Study
Environmental Assessment

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Alaska State Office, in cooperation with its District and Field Offices, has begun a process to address commercial hunting guide Special Recreation Permit capacities for BLM public lands in Alaska.   

DATES: 

The BLM will conduct a 60 day scoping period for this project beginning July 9, 2012. Formal scoping will end September 9, 2012. Comments received during this period will be considered in the analysis.   

Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:

• Email: BLM_AK_Hunt_Guide_Capacity_Study@blm.gov
• Fax: (907) 271-5479. Attn: GUA Comments
• Mail: BLM Alaska State Office, Attn: Hunting Guide Capacity Comments, BLM Alaska, 222 West 7th Avenue, Suite 13, Anchorage, AK 99513

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

For information and/or to have your name added to the mail list, contact Bill Overbaugh, at (907) 271-5508. 

For information on a similar study that is in the more advanced stages of development that offers insight on guide capacity issues, go to the State of Alaska, Department of Natural Resources, Guide Concession Program webpage at http://dnr.alaska.gov/mlw/gcp/.   BLM is a cooperator on this program along with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources Division of Mining, Land & Water and the Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation and the Alaska Department of Fish & Game.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

The BLM has received public interest and comments on social issues and user conflicts with commercial hunting guides. To address these conflicts, the BLM proposes to complete a statewide hunting guide capacity analysis, through an environmental assessment (EA), to determine the allocation of Special Recreation Permits (SRP) for each Guide Use Area on BLM public lands in Alaska. 

The goal of this analysis is to determine the proper allocation of commercial hunting guide permits per Guide Use Area based on user conflicts and social issues associated with commercial hunting guides. These social issues are anticipated to drive the scope of the EA, including the affected environment, the identification of alternatives, the analysis of impacts, and subsequent decisions. 

The purpose of the public scoping process is to identify relevant issues and criteria that will guide the process and influence the scope of the analysis and alternatives. Detailed comments related to social user conflict (or the lack thereof) related to commercial hunting guides in specific Guide Use Areas will be the most important for this analysis. You may submit comments in writing to the BLM during the scoping process or by the methods listed in the Comment section above. 

Thank you for your interest in Alaska’s public lands.