Integrated Training Area Management EA and Final FNSI

unplanned fires, soldiers are directed to report the fire immediately and assist firefighters except when inimpact areas. The SRA program would help ensure these military requirements are followed.RTLAUnder the RTLA program, field crews would conduct forest inventory and fire suppression work duringfield seasons. Invasive species, which are often more fire prone than native species, would be recorded indatabases for future monitoring and management efforts. Additionally, RTLA would conduct militaryexercise monitoring to ensure military requirements, including those discussed under SRA above, wouldbe met during training exercises. This would help ensure that any high-risk fire behavior or unplannedfires would be spotted and reported immediately.GISGIS would provide spatial data and remote sensing capabilities to help identify and map fire-prone areasand degree of fire risk by allowing spatial representation of vegetation type, weather conditions, and roadand building infrastructure. It would also aid prioritization of areas in need of fuels managementactivities. In the event of wildfire, GIS would be an important tool for implementing effective andefficient firefighting strategy.Alternative 2: Implement ITAM Program through a Management Plan (Proposed Action)Under this alternative, the ITAM program would be implemented through a management plan that wouldinclude standard operating procedures for LRAM and RTLA projects. Standardizing operating procedureswould ensure that fuels reduction, fire/fuel breaks and trenches, and fire suppression efforts would becompleted to specification. Impacts to fire management due to TRI, LRAM, SRA, RTLA, and GISactivities would be similar to those described under the No Action Alternative.Alternative 3: Suspend ITAM ProgramUnder this alternative, all components of the ITAM program would discontinue operation. Training landrehabilitation, maintenance, and range improvements would cease despite continued use of USARAKlands for Army training. Absence of the RTLA program would not affect fire management. The TRIprogram would not be present to ensure the integration of environmental considerations with trainingrequirements. This would impede USARAK’s ability to consider fire risk when planning trainingoperations. The SRA program would not exist to ensure military personnel are aware of fire restrictionsand regulations. This may increase the occurrence of unintended fires. Eliminating the GIS program couldmake fire management and firefighting activities less efficient and thus less effective.Discontinuation of the LRAM program would not allow fire management to benefit from accessimprovements such as low water crossings and road and trail hardening. Fuels reduction, fire suppressionactivities, and installation of fire/fuel breaks and trenches would not exist and would result in severe firerisk. Overall, fire management would be severely impacted by this alternative.The following table presents a summary of qualitative impacts to fire management resulting from eachalternative. Descriptions of the qualitative terms are provided in Chapter 2, Description of ProposedAction and Alternatives._____________________________________________________________________________________________Environmental AssessmentUnited States Army Alaska, Integrated Training Area Management ProgramManagement Plan 48