Tongass talks invite comments to forest plan amendment

Members of the community were invited to the Wrangell Ranger District Office on Jan. 13, to meet and greet with some of the minds behind the latest proposals for the future Tongass management plan.

The United States Forest Service is amending the current Land and Resource Management Plan for the Tongass National Forest, which is the largest in the country. Covering 16.7 million acres in Southeast Alaska, 3.4 million acres of that has been set aside for resource development.

The purpose of the

amendment is to transition over to a young-growth timber

harvest that is sustainable both for the environment and for regional industry. The

amendment process was

initiated by the Secretary of Agriculture in July 2013, when the USFS was directed to

transition timber harvest in the Tongass away from a

predominately old-growth model.

Being reviewed is the draft environmental impact statement (EIS), which puts forward five alternative scenarios for making the necessary transition. Among other areas, the EIS also considers future renewable energy development, roadless areas, wildlife habitat and conservation strategy.

The USFS will continue accepting formal comments on the draft EIS through Feb. 22, when the 90-day comment period closes. Written comments and recorded testimony will be considered during the preparation of the final EIS and Draft Record of Decision. A final decision document approving the plan amendment is anticipated by December.

The Tongass Advisory Committee (TAC) was drawn from representatives of public and private interests in the forest's management in 2014, and reached a consensus on its draft EIS recommendations last year. The TAC recommended the EIS Alternative 5, which among the different action alternatives provides the second-smallest amount of combined old and new timber volume, but would also feature the second largest amount of young-growth volume in the suitable base.

Under that scenario timber would be harvested at a rate of 46 million board feet (MMBF) per year to meet projected timber demand. Emphasis would be placed on young-growth forest while old growth would be progressively reduced.

Providing an overview of the process, USFS amendment project manager Susan Howle explained there had been some trade-offs in the drafting process. One of the bigger compromises has been the opening of some young-growth areas to harvest that are normally inaccessible under the current 2008 management plan such as in riparian zones. She said the decision was taken in order to meet the transition deadline of 15 years.

Howle explained the make-up of the TAC was designed to keep proposals from being too one-sided. Membership included delegates from among federal, tribal and local governments, conservation and industry groups, permit holders and other members of the public.

Together the TAC had developed its recommendations, which in turn informed the Forest Plan Amendment - Alternative 5. But their work was independent from the Forest Plan Amendment process, which was being drafted by an interdisciplinary team.

Representing Wrangell, Carol Rushmore felt the process had been productive. Groups at the table had worked through their issues, and during a lengthy meeting in Ketchikan last month TAC members met with the interdisciplinary team to discuss how their recommendations had been reflected in the proposed plan amendment.

"The Forest Service did a good job of listening to the collective voices in the group," commented Andrew Thoms, executive director of the Sitka Conservation Society and a member of the TAC. "They brought together people from a lot of different stakeholder groups from across the state. Everybody worked really hard to find how everything came together."

Thoms felt the committee had been a rare example of cooperation between differing groups over timber, and was generally satisfied with the results.

"We really want to see the end of old-growth logging sooner than that alternative proposes," he said, adding there had been compromises made all around.

Terms of the plan are unlikely to affect Wrangell in the near future, as its young-growth resources are not expected to be mature by the 15-year transition.

Wrangell's was the third open house held among the Tongass' communities, after Ketchikan and Prince of Wales. An open house was held the following evening in Petersburg, and two were held in Juneau and Sitka this week.

For more information on the management plan, the amendment process and how to comment, visit http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/tongass/landmanagement/.