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Tongass National Forest |
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Tongass in the NewsRE: Saving Trees is Music to Guitar Makers’ EarsNew York Times article published June 7, 2007 June 13, 2007 Dear Editor: I read with interest the article outlining guitar makers’ investment in sustainable wood harvesting for building musical instruments (“Saving Trees is Music to Guitar Makers’ Ears”, 6/7/07). As a major land steward of the public lands in Southeast Alaska, home to the valuable Sitka Spruce cited in the article, I wanted to alert your readers to efforts we are making on the Tongass National Forest to ensure sustainable spruce harvest in perpetuity. The staff of the Tongass National Forest (NF) has a close and long tenured relationship with musical instrument makers in Southeast Alaska. In order to support this industry locally, we have instituted a micro-sale program, designed specifically for small mill owners. In this program, a purchaser may buy rights to and salvage a log that has died and is within a short range of an established road. Musical instrument makers comprise almost 80% of these sales. We support the entrepreneurial zest evident in these small business owners, and are excited that through this program we are able to meet their resource needs while ensuring proper resource protection through Forest Service policies and restrictions. The Tongass also supplies Sitka Spruce to regional and national purchasers, via a sustainably managed timber program on the Forest. Our Tongass Land Management Plan is designed to balance demands on all of the ecosystem services provided by the forest, from wilderness experiences to wood provision. Through the measured and restricted harvesting practices outlined in this plan, the Tongass National Forest will be able to supply Sitka Spruce and other valuable trees from the region to musical instrument makers and their small business brethren indefinitely. Our commitment to the public remains as it always has been: the greatest good, for the greatest number of people, for the longest run. We are proud of our ability to deliver on this promise through programs such as the micro-sale program and our regular timber program, in addition to managing recreation, wilderness, fish, wildlife, and other natural resources on the 17 million acres of public forest lands in Southeast Alaska. If you are interested in more information on the Tongass, please visit our website (http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/tongass/index.shtml) or give us a call (907-225-3101)—we would be happy to answer your questions. Sincerely, Forrest
Cole |
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USDA Forest Service - Tongass National Forest |