Shoreline II Outfitter/Guide Project Implementation
In 2018 the Tongass National Forest and the Alaska Department of Fish & Game initiated a collaborative effort to help implement the Shoreline II Outfitter/Guide Project Record of Decision (ROD) and Unit 4 Brown Bear Management Strategy. The ROD stated that the Forest Service will work across Ranger District boundaries and with big game guides to address prospectus and change of ownership issues collaboratively. Further, it stated that implementation depends on continued collaboration and cooperation of State and Federal agencies, outfitter/guides, and the public. The intent of this process is to provide consistency in implementation across Ranger Districts, and provide stakeholders a voice in how these actions occur.
From October 2018 to March 2019, the Forest Service facilitated stakeholder discussions focused on improving the change of ownership process, which resulted in a number of suggestions (see below for meeting notes). Although this collaboration focused on Game Management Unit 4 (GMU 4), many of the improvements identified are applicable to all outfitting and guiding services on the Tongass National Forest and are being applied forest-wide.
Outcomes of this collaboration include:
- Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Forest Service, ADF&G, and the State of Alaska Big Game Commercial Services Board (If you require a harcopy of this document please contact Chris Doupnik at christopher.doupnik@usda.gov. This is a WRD document)
- Standard Operating Procedures to clarify roles and procedures, gain consistency across the forest, and provide transparency for processing change of ownership requests from outfitter/guide permit holders
- Forest Service Change of Ownership Process Flowchart
Note: This is not a Federal Advisory Committee and we are not seeking group consensus on agency decisions. This is an ad-hoc collaborative group open to all who share an interest in successfully implementing the Shoreline II Outfitter/Guide ROD and the Brown Bear Management Strategy. We are seeking stakeholder insights and will consider all input when making agency decisions.
Public Meetings and Associated Documents
Related Collaboration Efforts
Please send questions to: SM.FS.shoreline2@usda.gov