The United States Forest Service announced last week the retirement of two of its top managers in the Tongass National Forest, America's largest national forest.
Supervisor Forrest Cole will retire from his position in April, having served nearly 40 years in the USFS and on the Tongass since 2003. Deputy Supervisor Tricia O'Connor will also be leaving, in February, to take a job heading Bridger-Teton National Forest in Jackson, Wyo.
In a press release, Sen. Lisa Murkowski said Cole “made a monumental effort as forest supervisor to support the remaining mills in Southeast Alaska and keep a viable timber industry operating, even while being pressed from Washington to transition to a young-growth management strategy.”
Recently the USFS became entangled in a trio of lawsuits seeking to halt the sale of old-growth timber on Prince of Wales Island. The Big Thorne timber dispute has seen local communities side with the agency in support; the Wrangell Assembly voted in December to join other parties in interceding on USFS' behalf in the suits.
The agency has said the action could help stabilize the timber industry in Southeast as the Tongass makes a shift toward young growth timber harvests in the future. The sale allows for the harvest of almost 150 million board feet from approximately 6,186 acres of old-growth and 2,299 acres of young-growth near Thorne Bay and Coffman Cove within the Thorne Bay Ranger District.
“It's now incumbent on this administration to appoint a new forest supervisor who understands the needs of the timber industry in Southeast and is committed to pushing the service to do the work needed to plan and defend timber sales that allow what remains of the industry to be successful and generate jobs and income for Alaskans,” Murkowski's comment read.
Reader Comments(0)