After looking at the environmental impacts, the U.S. Forest Service decided it wants to trade federal land along Fish Creek Road on Douglas Island for a Native allotment on Admiralty Island.

The allotment owners intend to develop the Douglas Island land, near Eaglecrest, for tourist lodging, a restaurant and several homes. Locals who now use the area for deer and grouse hunting and berry-picking would lose about a half-mile of roadside access, the Forest Service said.

The public has until Jan. 19 to comment on the agency's environmental assessment, released in mid-December.

Heirs of the Jimmy George estate own about 100 acres in the south arm of Hood Bay, within the Kootznoowoo Wilderness of Admiralty National Monument.

For the George family, the land trade is an opportunity to create a long-term investment, said Gabriel George of Angoon, the spokesman for nine family members in Angoon and Juneau who own the Hood Bay parcel.

The family may build six to 10 year-round cabins for about 30 guests initially, plus a restaurant and private homes for family members in the woods near Fish Creek Road, George said.

"It will give us a long-term investment in the area," he said. "It will provide a wilderness setting for people who want to ski at Eaglecrest or a wilderness setting for people visiting Juneau who want to stay in a log cabin."

The 220-acre parcel on Douglas Island, surrounded by other Forest Service land, is about three miles up Fish Creek Road. Fish Creek and a tributary pass through the parcel, which would become a Native allotment if the swap happens.

Under the Forest Service's proposal, the land exchange would include a 25-foot-wide public easement for the Treadwell Ditch Trail, which runs for about a quarter-mile near the parcel's east boundary.

The Forest Service and the George family have been talking about a land trade for several years. The agency said acquiring the pristine Hood Bay property would be an important step in consolidating wilderness lands on Admiralty Island.

"The south arm of Hood Bay is ... key bear habitat. It has a significant fish stream," said K.J. Metcalf, president of the citizens' group Friends of Admiralty. "I think it's really important it be added to the national monument."

When the agency previously gathered opinions on the land swap, some people were concerned about the proposed development's effect on water quality, whether the land would be clear-cut and whether regulations governing Native allotments would protect natural resources.

"All we have to present to the tourists is a wilderness setting, so we plan to keep it as natural as possible," said George, the family spokesman.

The family doesn't intend to clear-cut the land and hasn't done so on its Hood Bay property, he said. "We're looking for a long-term investment, not short-term."

The Forest Service said there are no other proposals to develop federal land in the Fish Creek area, which is managed for semi-remote recreation.

Agency officials didn't propose to restrict development or timber harvest on the Fish Creek parcel as a condition of the land swap, as some people requested. The agency's policies don't support those kinds of restrictions, and the George family said it wouldn't accept them, the Forest Service said.

But Metcalf said the agency could have pressed more for conservation easements, such as through land trusts, and for more public access.

The Forest Service instead looked at whether local, state and federal rules would govern development on the parcel.

The agency couldn't be sure what regulations would apply to the Native allotment until the owners seek permits, said environmental coordinator Dennis Rogers.

The parcel may not be subject to a city ordinance that requires wooded buffers around streams, but the owners would have to follow city and state laws on wastewater and water quality, the assessment said. The parcel likely would have to get state permits to work in streams and obey federal rules about dredging or filling wetlands, the assessment said.

It's also not clear whether city land-use rules would apply to the Native allotment, said Sylvia Kreel, a city planner.

Preventing development near Fish Creek Road is one of the city Comprehensive Plan's guidelines.

The area isn't zoned for hotels, motels or restaurants, but it could fall under the category of resorts, which are allowed with a conditional-use permit. A resort serves transient guests for which recreation is the primary purpose.