Alaska Region Programmatic Agreement

APPENDIX B: Authorized Undertakings

Qualified Heritage Professionals shall use “General Guidelines” for each heading to evaluate whether or not the undertaking is covered under this PA. If it is, then choose and document to the file the appropriate reference for using this appendix.

If the undertaking does not meet a guideline, then standard Section 106 procedures apply (Section III.a. Returning to Standard Section 106 Procedures).

Undertakings are authorized under the terms of this PA with no further consultation if all criteria listed in the body of the PA under Section I.e. Streamlined Section 106 Procedures, are met:

1. Administrative Actions – General Guidelines

Any administrative action that has no potential to cause effects to historic properties [per 36 CFR 800.3(a)(1)]. This includes land acquisitions. If land is expected to be conveyed out of federal ownership standard Section 106 procedures apply.

1. Activites Related to Land Acquisition or Interests – General Guidelines

1. 
   Surveying and posting landline boundaries.
   
2. 
   Issuance of special use permits that simply transfer the authorization, without modification, from one owner to another when real property facilities under the authorization are sold or transferred and no other actions are directly authorized.
   
3. 
   Lands withdrawn from Mineral Entry so that they are closed to mining and mineral exploration.
   

ab.Activities Carried Out Under a Permit – General Guidelines

Activities carried out under a permit may affect historic properties. The following activities governed by permits are allowed if less than one square meter of cumulative ground disturbance will occur; or the activities are permitted to occur in already disturbed areas, such as within the existing footprint of roads, trails or other constructed campsites; Leave No Trace principles are followed, activites are dispersed and overall number of visitors are low; or are in areas that have been previously surveyed to current standards (within the last 5 years) and no historic properties have been documented.

1. 
   Activities that occur under the authority of a special use permit such as filming of movie or video productions, apiary permits, and data collection.
   
2. 
   Activities carried out under permits that allow use of an area for dispersed activities involving a party size of twelve (12) or fewer people. Examples of activities include: hiking, picnicking, Christmas tree cutting; special forest products gathering, bear-viewing visits, or Wilderness visits.
   
3. 
   Winter Activities that occur on or near historic properties where properties are subsurface and are protected by an adequate surface covering of snow deep enough to ensure protection of the resources, as determined by the Line Officer in consultation with the Heritage Professional, taking into consideration the types of historic properties in the area, the types of activities to occur, and temperature. Activities of this nature include snow machining, downhill or cross country skiing, or other winter related activities.
   
4. 
   Activities that utilize existing roads, trails, or constructed campsites, and no increase in the footprint of existing improvements is expected. Activities of this nature include commercial hauling over existing roads.
   
5. 
   Activities that include tree cutting or small scale vegetation management that have minimal potential to affect historic properties.
   
6. 
   Permit renewals that do not change the terms of the permit, provided that monitoring continues to demonstrate that no historic properties are affected or adversely affected per previous application of a PA or per an existing MOA.
   

ac.Ground Disturbing Activities

1. Previously Disturbed Grounds - General Guidelines

Previously disturbed grounds are defined as those where natural or human disturbance has modified the landscape so extensively that the likelihood of finding a historic property is negligible in the opinion of a Heritage Professional.

1. 
   Excavation work within two (2) feet of existing footings and foundations.
   

2. 
   Ongoing routine maintenance of immediately surrounding landscaping (such as mowing and lawn repair), including such modifications as removal of non-native vegetation, adding single plants or shrubs that blend with the existing landscape, or adding rocks to define paths, where not otherwise prohibited, so long as existing landscape characteristics are maintained and the method of removal and installation does not disturb previously undisturbed ground or historic properties.
   
3. 
   Tree planting or removal in areas that have been previously disturbed by these activities, including nursery beds and arboreta, provided existing landscaping is maintained.
   
4. 
   Installation of utilities, such as sewer, water, or storm drains, electrical, gas, or leach lines, and septic tanks, where installation is restricted to specific areas previously disturbed by installation of utilities and the method of installation does not encroach on previously undisturbed ground or historic properties.
   
5. 
   Inventory, data and information collection (including collection of samples) as long as less than one square meter of cumulative ground disturbance is involved, including archaeological testing, land use and land cover, geological, mineralogical, chemical, and resource evaluation activities, cadastral surveys, or geophysical surveys.
   
6. 
   Expansion of vertical quarries, excavation of previously buried utility lines, and any activities within the demonstrated vertical and horizontal limits of previous disturbance or construction.
   
7. 
   Any undertaking that proposes less than one square meter of cumulative ground disturbance. This includes activities relating to Special Use Permits, installation of signs, mechanical and electrical devices used for weather observations, research purposes, etc.
   
8. 
   Placement or replacement of recreational, special designation, informational, or directional signs, bulletin boards, barrier posts, and portable sanitation devices in developed sites, trailheads, roads, or resort complexes, keeping in mind the potential for indirect (e.g. visual) impacts to surrounding historic properties, including National Register historic districts and NHLs.
   
9. 
   Any activities taking place in a previously approved Mining Plan of Operation that is carried out within the original APEs and for which no historic properties were discovered or would be adversely affected, including any operations such as suction dredging that take place entirely within the wetted perimeter of the stream.
   
10. 
    Approval of previously approved Mining Plans of Operations that would add another user, or the sale or transfer of an approved operation to other individuals that would not change the terms of the Plan of Operations or affect historic properties.
    

ad.Previously Undisturbed Grounds - General Guidelines

Previously undisturbed grounds are defined as those where no human disturbance has significantly modified the landscape.

1. 
   Limited reburials of human remains and other cultural items subject to NAGPRA on FS managed land at the request of, and in consultation with the lineal descendants or culturally affiliated tribes following NAGPRA procedures and in accordance with the 2008 Farm Bill.
   
2. 
   Invasive plant management activities that uses hand-tools and/or otherwise uses minimally invasive procedures for plant management, including application of herbicides provided that the FS has determined that such actions will not affect traditional gathering areas.