Tongass National Forest

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State of the Forest

Fiscal Year 2005

Note: This report is also available as a PDF file (860 kb) for printing. Links to specific sections of the Web document follow the message below.

A Message from the Forest Supervisor and Deputy Forest Supervisor

Another year is behind us and another “job well done” by the dedicated public servants of the nation’s largest national forest. During 2005, Tongass National Forest employees put forth an exemplary effort in managing your national forest.

The Tongass team accomplished a variety of goals in the areas of Forest Plan maintenance, fish passage improvements, subsistence deer allocation, watershed restoration, timber sale offerings, wilderness management, recreation, second-growth management, and much more.

To address the ever-increasing public demand for more recreational opportunities on National Forest System lands, the Tongass staff completed and are implementing the decisions made possible by the analysis of the Shoreline Outfitter and Guide Environmental Impact Statement. This decision allows a responsible level of growth for the outfitter and guide industry over the next five years for portions of the northern forest’s shoreline area while protecting the resources that we all value.

We made strides in a transitioning timber program by emphasizing harvest projects to support resource-dependent communities in southeast Alaska and focusing on second-growth management. While the Tongass has 435,000 acres of second-growth, or young-growth, trees that are maturing, there is a lack of data on how best to manage the 40-60 year-old stands.

We initiated several projects to address second-growth management questions and help us evaluate the effectiveness of thinning to improve wildlife habitat and biodiversity. We anticipate that habitat restoration and improvement projects will enhance the health of the land, increase recreational opportunities, benefit subsistence users and help local economies. Ultimately, we hope these efforts will give rise to a “Restoration Economy” to benefit the people of southeast Alaska and the American public at large.

We welcomed a new partner in 2005 to help us reach our restoration goals, teaming up with one of the most respected conservation organizations in the world. The Tongass National Forest and The Nature Conservancy signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to work together to achieve a balance of working forests, habitat reserves, and sustainable communities.

We continued enhancing our already positive relationship with the Native Alaska community. We have developed MOUs with many of our Tribes establishing consultation protocols. One event of significance was the commissioning of local Tlingit Master Carver Israel Shotridge to create a 12-foot totem pole that is now prominently displayed at the Forest Service Headquarter’s new “Hall of Tribal Nations” exhibit in the nation’s capital. The totem depicts the Forest Service and the native carvers of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCCs) in southeast Alaska.

We persisted in our communication and outreach program, highlighted by “America’s Rain Forests - A Distance Learning Adventure” youth education project. The multi-disciplinary international project linked the temperate rain forests of Alaska with the tropical rain forests of Puerto Rico.

We continued our assault on invasive plants and destructive insects in 2005. Tongass employees shared their expertise with the public about the tansy ragwort that is taking root around Ketchikan, and spruce aphids who continue defoliating trees in Craig, Juneau, Ketchikan and Sitka.

We took a hard look at unmanaged recreation on the Tongass. We began planning for off-highway vehicle use on the forest by seeking public input on access travel management plans. These efforts are a way to get a handle on future road management issues and prevent possible damage from unplanned roads and trails such as erosion, watershed and habitat degradation, and impacts to cultural resource sites.

Our Law Enforcement and Investigations team had a productive year. They aren’t often in the limelight because much of their work is done “behind the scenes,” but they deserve a pat on the back for their efforts protecting the Tongass and the many forest users.

Finally, to ensure more productive years ahead, we created a long-term Strategic Business Plan for the Tongass. We are beginning to implement the plan this year which will provide the vision and direction to carry the Tongass into the future. Our long term strategy, the ongoing efforts of dedicated employees and your involvement will help us continue to successfully carry out our mission of “Caring for the Land and Serving People.”

		Forrest Cole		Olleke E. Rappe-Daniels
		Forest Supervisor Tongass National Forest		Deputy Forest Supervisor Tongass National Forest

Growing a restoration economy
Providing recreational opportunities
Protecting the Tongass
Educating the youth of America
Forest facts and figures
Taking the best, making it better
Forest finances
District Rangers

Growing a restoration economy...

In 2005, we launched a “Restoration Economy” initiative to provide both habitat and economic benefits to the communities of southeast Alaska. The Tongass National Forest has 435,000 acres of maturing second-growth stands but we don’t have a lot of data on how best to manage the 40-60 year old component. In an effort to answer some of these management questions, as well as evaluate the effectiveness of thinning for habitat improvement and biological diversity, we implemented and continued several projects last year. These restoration projects not only improve ecosystem health but also can provide the raw timber materials that local wood products businesses need to survive. Growing a “Restoration Economy” takes a team effort and The Nature Conservancy stepped up to the plate in 2005 and agreed to work with us on an array of restoration activities. Although Tongass fish and wildlife habitat is some of the most intact in the National Forest System the investments in restoring and enriching habitat conditions in these relatively intact ecosystems provide returns to the taxpayer by creating jobs, improving recreational opportunities, maintaining beneficial water uses, and enhancing ecological sustainability. Additionally, commercial, sport and subsistence users of salmon reap the benefits of thriving wild salmon runs. With the future of public land management trending more towards ecological restoration and outdoor recreation opportunities, a “Restoration Economy” can help deliver the many things the public wants from their national forest … clean water, outstanding scenery, wildlife habitat, safe and healthy recreation opportunities, and inexpensive but high-quality wood products.

Providing recreational opportunities...

In an effort to address the ever-increasing public demand for more recreational opportunities on National Forest System lands, we issued the Shoreline Outfitter/Guide Record of Decision in 2005. It allows for a responsible level of growth for the outfitter/guide industry over the next five years for portions of the northern Tongass National Forest’s shoreline area. Because of the remote and rugged nature of Southeast Alaska, outfitter/guide services provide one of the few ways many visitors can enjoy the forest. We will manage guided visitor-use levels to maintain quality recreation experiences without degrading forest resources or the recreation experiences for both guided and unguided recreationists. The plan will diversify the opportunities for resource uses that contribute to local and regional economies while maintaining healthy forest ecosystems. We conducted a complex analysis to determine effects to “recreation experience” so we could adequately balance preserving the high-quality experience with allowing additional outfitted use. This is the first document of its kind that implements components of the standards and guides along with the direction for the management of Land Use Designations from the Forest Plan for such a wide project area. The Shoreline decision allows 11 percent of the total recreation use to be outfitter/guide use. Although this is a conservative approach to commercial recreation use, it still allows for near doubling of the current guided use in the analysis area. We worked very hard to allow for growth of the recreation industry while at the same time, we heard loud and clear from local communities that they did not want to see unmanaged growth of commercial recreation.

Protecting the Tongass...

When people hear “Tongass National Forest” many envision eagles, bears, spawning salmon or the breath-taking vistas of wild Alaska. People may not think about the behind-the-scenes team of professionals who protect the forest. They are our Law Enforcement and Investigations team and they have an enormous mission. We have 11 law enforcement specialists charged with the monumental task of protecting the public, employees, and natural resources on the nation’s largest national forest. They’re seldom in the limelight, but do a heck of a job time and again. A few highlights in the law enforcement arena during 2005 included a crack down on the use of spotlights to poach deer at night on Prince of Wales Island. Local-area subsistence users voiced their concern about illegal night hunting and its negative effect on deer harvesting. Our law enforcement team responded to public concerns and issued numerous citations including shooting from a road, hunting without a license, damage to government property, operating a motor vehicle without a license and possession of a controlled substance. Last year also saw our unique trio of law enforcement officers make great strides in protecting local communities. Officers Bryan and Cheri Bowen are a husband-wife team. Cheri’s other partner is Amigo, a Forest Service K9. Cheri and Amigo were involved in finding lost individuals, tracking criminals, uncovering evidence and discovering illegal drugs. These are just a couple of examples to illustrate the great work our law enforcement specialists are accomplishing for the Tongass National Forest.

Educating the youth of America...

Fiscal Year 2005 Fiscal Year 2005 Protecting the Tongass ... Protecting the Tongass ... Thanks to the Tongass National Forest and its partners, hundreds of thousands of students across the nation were able to experience America’s rain forests in 2005 without ever stepping outside their classrooms. “America’s Rain Forests: A Distance Learning Adventure,” was broadcast nationwide to an estimated 350,000 people. Biologists, scientists and land managers took 5th to 8th-graders on an electronic field trip of the Caribbean National Forest in Puerto Rico and the temperate rain forest of the Tongass. The innovative conservation education project was designed to inspire young people to embrace their public lands and to educate them about the unique management challenges of these lands. The program touched on a variety of topics including current research in tropical and temperate rain forests; basic components of rain forest ecosystems; the similarities and differences of tropical and temperate rain forests: and the human needs provided by rain forests. It took more than two years of planning and would not have happened without strong partnerships. This project was the result of the collaborative efforts of numerous government agencies and private organizations. The lead private partner for the project was Prince William Network, an award-winning educational institution in Manassas, Va. Please visit the project website at http://rainforests.pwnet.org to learn more about the project and our project partners.

Forest facts and figures

Roads & Trails (from 2004 )	Miles
Forest System Roads (FSR)	3,547.3
FSR - Decommissioned	5.0
FSR - Maintained	1,184.3
FSR New Construction	20.5
FSR Reconstruction	114.1
Trails	463.92
Trails - Construction/ Reconstruction	5.5

Timber Output
Allowable Sale Quantity	267 mmbf
TTRA Annual Demand	150 mmbf
Timber Offered	110 mmbf
Timber Harvested	50 mmbf
Free use permits	159
Free use volume	.7 mmbf

Taking the best, making it better...

This past year we kicked off a study to evaluate the Tongass Forest Plan for possible adjustments. A Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in August 2005 prompted this latest assessment. The ruling pointed out some procedural shortfalls related to our timber demand projections. However, the court’s decision also gives us a great opportunity to review and fine-tune other aspects of the plan to keep it up to date, ensuring the long-term ecosystem health of the Tongass and sustainability of southeast Alaska communities. As part of the adjustment process, we will examine the plan’s conservation strategy to see if any improvements are necessary. The conservation strategy is the centerpiece of the plan, designed to protect the biological heart of the Tongass. We also will incorporate more public-input items from our recently completed five-year review of the Plan. We’ve already made numerous adjustments through our ongoing efforts in this normal five-year review process. The Tongass Forest Plan is still one of the finest forest plans in the country and is our guiding document and contract with the public. Our projects have and will continue to move forward. The bottom line is we will not stop carrying out our land-stewardship mission, but we will do whatever it takes to move our Plan from excellent to outstanding. The adjustment review will be time-consuming, but we have processes in place to keep the public well informed (www.tongass-fpadjust.net) and to help them actively participate in the management of their forest. Our aim is to complete any updates to the plan by July 2007.

Forest finances

Forest Revenue

Program	Dollars
Timber (Cash to NF Funds)	$108,989
Timber (Knutson-Vandenburg Earnings)	$179,920
Timber Program (Salvage Sale)	$91,000
Land Use Fees	$275,218
Recreation	$139,552
Power	$44,079
Minerals	$25,826
Recreation User Fees (Outfitter/Guides)	$66,669
Recreation Fee Collection	$20,360
Recreation Site Fees	$1,676,804
Fee Demo Collection Support	$300,660
Program TOTAL	$2,929,077
Miscellaneous Receipts
Employee Quarters	$402,521
Roads & Other Co-op Deposits	$21,949
Miscellaneous Receipts TOTAL	$424,470
FOREST REVENUE TOTAL	$3,353,547

National Forest System
Forest Products	$10,643,827
Inventory & Monitoring	$3,054,292
Land Management Planning	$724,152
Land Ownership Management	$1,892,829
Minerals & Geology Management	$876,888
Recreation/Heritage/Wilderness Mgmt.	$4,346,327
Vegetation & Watershed Management	$4,611,930
Wildlife & Fisheries Habitat Mgmt.	$4,477,714
National Forest System TOTAL	$30,627,959
Capital Improvement
Facility Capital Improvement & Maint.	$6,364,524
Infrastructure Improvement	$721,876
Road Capital Improvement & Maint.	$17,729,493
Trail Capital Improvement & Maint.	$2,138,816
Capital Improvement TOTAL	$26,954,709
Fire
Wildland Fire Preparedness	$1,077,772
Emergency Suppression & Rehabilitation	$359,051
Fire TOTAL	$1,436,823
Miscellaneous Funds
Economic Action Programs	$0
Federal Highways	$235,341
Land Acquisition	$42,025
Knutson-Vandenburg Cooperative Work	$238,689
Other Co-op Work	$95,788
Payments to States - County Projects	$200,331
Quarters Operation & Maintenance	$420,562
Reforestation Trust	$952,537
Roads & Trails for States, 10% Fund	$409,625
Salvage Sales	$1,337,031
Timber Roads Purchaser Election	$0
Miscellaneous Funds TOTAL	$3,931,929
Other
Subsistence	$2,338,900
TM Pipeline Backlog	$3,473,812
Recreation Fee Collection	$6,648
Fee Demo Site Specific	$998,288
Fee Demo Collection Support	$359,347
Fee Demo Agency Specific	$25,586
Other TOTAL	$7,202,581
Overhead
Costpools	$12,320,086
FOREST EXPENDITURE TOTAL	$82,474,087

District Rangers

USDA Forest Service - Tongass National Forest
Last Modified: July 26, 2006