The Alaska Department of Natural Resource has approved the 292-acre Whale Pass Timber Sale.
The sale, in the community of Whale Pass, population about 60, requires a 100-foot buffer between the harvest area and residential property.
A request for reconsideration of the commissioner’s decision is due no later than April 26.
Whale Pass considers tourism and recreation as its major economic industries, according to James Greeley and Katie Bode, who are Whale Pass residents and representatives of Friends of Whale Pass. “We know that the planned clearcut will kill that industry,” Greeley and Bode wrote in a letter to the editor of the Prince of Wales Island Post in 2022.
Greeley and Bode pointed out that any clearcutting near Whale Pass would interfere with the tourist experience, whether arrival by aircraft or on the island’s road system. The community is about 40 miles southwest of Wrangell.
“We see most summer visitors traveling through Whale Pass with kayaks and canoes,” they wrote. “There will be nothing left to view from the water near town but clearcuts.”
Additionally, they cited the proximity of the clearcut to the Whale Pass residential area as a concern.
“Any removal of tree root systems on shallow and wet soil above these homes increases the danger of erosion and mudslides,” they wrote.
Greg Staunton with the Division of Forestry explained last week that officials have tried to accommodate the community as much as possible. “We met with the community several times to understand their concerns — some of which have been relayed to us from different perspectives,” Staunton said.
“We came to the conclusion we couldn’t mitigate all of their concerns having to do with the visual aspect of the cut and its proximity to the community. … We believe we’ve mitigated other elements that are pertinent to the situation,” he said. “In other words, such as water quality, soil integrity, reforestation ... wildlife habitat (and) fisheries habitat.”
Staunton pointed out that it is the division’s duty to manage the land for the benefit of all Alaskans.
If opponents file for reconsideration, and if they are denied by the natural resources commissioner, their next option would be to go to court.
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