Draft Study Plan Vol 1 (PDF) - Alaska Power and Telephone Company

DRAFT DOCUMENT
not impacted or that impacts are kept to a minimum. The use of Best Management
Practices in road construction will help prevent the potential to impact critical salmon
habitat.
Due to the unlikelihood of this project having a direct impact and a low
probability of an indirect impact on the Stellar sea lion, and therefore a finding of no
significant impact, no studies of the Stellar sea lion are proposed.
Recreation and Land Use
Recreation
The Haines Borough’s spectacular setting has made it a popular destination as
visitors come to see and experience the mountains, fjords, glaciers, fishing, eagle viewing
and other abundant sea and land wildlife in the area. The Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve,
Haines State Forest, Chilkat State Park, Chilkat Lake State Recreation Site, and the
Chilkoot State Park are all within the Haines Borough boundaries. History enthusiasts
enjoy the Fort William Seward, Alaska’s first permanent army post constructed in Alaska
in 1903. The post was decommissioned following World War II and was designated a
National Historic Landmark in 1973. Of additional historic interest are the mining
district of Porcupine, Pleasant Camp (Dalton Trail Post) at the Canadian border,
Government Indian School, Eldred Rock Lighthouse, the Charlie Anway Cabin, and
original historic buildings located in the center of Haines business district. The Sheldon
Museum is dedicated to the history of Haines and its rich Tlingit native cultures.
Although the Haines Borough is considered remote in some aspects, it is fully accessible
by land via the Haines Highway, by air service from Juneau, and by water through its
deep water, year-round port.
It is clear that the recreational opportunities for the area are focused on the more
easily assessable Chilkat River Valley and the area around Haines. However, Lutak has
already experienced a growth in both personal and commercial tourism and recreation.
An emphasis on increased access to the more remote areas around Chilkoot Lake has
been suggested as well as expanded visitor opportunities in the form of fishing and higher
alpine access. A possible trail from Chilkoot to Skagway has also been proposed. 26
Haines Borough residents and visitors participate in many varied forms of
recreation. Just some of these activities are fishing, camping, hiking, hunting, rafting,
kayaking, boating, photography, cross county skiing, snow-shoeing, snow-machining,
dog-mushing, heli-skiing, snowboarding, golf, rock climbing, and mountaineering. A
challenge is balancing the demand for areas where either personally or for their business,
people seek a semi-remote or wilderness experience, versus the demand for areas where
literally hundreds of visitors a day can be given a glimpse of the ‘remote’ and ‘wild’
country and resources in the Borough. These large, so called ‘industrial’ recreational
enterprises occur in the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, the Chilkoot River, Chilkat Lake,
Davidson Glacier, and other locations. Attitude surveys show broad support (68%) for
tourism growth among Borough residents, but land use must be carefully managed to
ensure this support continues. 27
26 Haines Borough Comprehensive Plan March 30, 2004, p. 63.
27 Ibid, p. 63-64.
Draft Study Plan – June 2012 p. 34 Connelly Lake Hydroelectric Project