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Table of Land Ownership in Alaska
FEDERAL PUBLIC LAND PLANNING:
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
Fish and Wildlife
Service (USFWS)
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STATE PUBLIC LAND PLANNING:
Alaska Dept. of
Natural Resources (DNR)
Division of
Forestry (DOF)
Division of
Mining, Land & Water (DMLW)
Division of
Parks and Outdoor Recreation (DPOR)
Alaska Dept of Fish
and Game (ADFG)
Habitat
Division
Office of the
Governor
Coastal
Management Program (CMP)
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Alaska Public Lands Information Center
Planning Alaska's
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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOREST SERVICE |
HISTORY--Alaska's National Forests
The Alaska Region of the Forest Service extends northwestward from the southern end of Southeast Alaska along the coast of the Gulf of Alaska to Prince William Sound and across the Kenai Peninsula to Cook Inlet. It contains two National Forests, the Tongass and the Chugach. (http://www.fs.fed.us/r10)
Tongass National Forest
The Tongass, which was established through a series of proclamations between 1902 and 1909 and now contains about 16.9 million acres, is the largest National Forest in the nation. It also has the distinction of containing two of the three Forest Service administered National Monuments, Admiralty Island (955,000 acres) and Misty Fjords (2,285,000 acres). (Mount St. Helens in the Pacific Northwest Region is the other Monument.) Because of its great size, the Tongass is managed through three administrative areas: the Chatham, Stikine, and Ketchikan. Each area has its own forest supervisor and planning staff officer. http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/tongass/
Most of the 10.2 million acres of forested land on the Tongass is part of the cool, very moist temperate rain forest that extends along the Pacific coast from northern California to Cook Inlet in Alaska. About 18 percent of the forested acres of the Tongass are currently available for commercial timber harvest purposes. The trees on these and other non-federal lands are sold to supply the Southeast Alaska timber industry with the wood it uses to produce forest products such as pulp and lumber. About a third of the available forested acreage has been harvested since the 1950's, and new stands of trees are rapidly replacing the old-growth stands that have been cut.
The Tongass is home for more than 450 different wildlife and fish species. Wildlife and fisheries management on the Tongass National Forest occurs through close cooperation with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The anadromous fisheries management program is the largest for any single forest in the National Forest System. Southeast Alaska waters support a large commercial fisheries industry dependent upon salmon that spawn in the streams and rivers within the National Forest.
The Tongass offers outstanding recreation opportunities. About 5.7 million acres of the Forest are now included in the National Wilderness Preservation System and many other areas are being managed to maintain primitive and semi-primitive recreation settings. The Forest is also known for its system of remote area public use cabins, hiking trails, campgrounds, and visitor centers. Tourism has been increasing at a rapid rate since about 1980. Local recreation use has also been growing, but at a lower rate since the regional population has not been increasing as rapidly.
The Forest is considered rich in mineral resources and has a long mining history. Minerals found on the Tongass include precious metals (gold, silver, and platinum) and base metals (copper, iron, lead, zinc, nickel, cobalt, molybdenum, barium, and chromium). Nonmetallic minerals such as gypsum and asbestos, as well as coal, oil, and gas deposits, also exist. Vast quantities of limestone and marble are found in Southeast Alaska's extensive karstlands, which are also becoming known for their outstanding cave resources.
Chugach National Forest
The Chugach, which was established in 1907 and now contains about 5.7 million acres, is the second largest National Forest in the nation. It is located along the Gulf of Alaska from Cape Suckling to Cordova and contains most of the coastal lands and islands of Prince William Sound, several primarily glacial areas reaching north from Prince William Sound, including the Nellie Juan River, the Sargent Icefield, and Controller Bay, and the northeast third of the Kenai Peninsula. http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/chugach/
Like the Tongass, the Chugach is home to many different wildlife and fish species. Wildlife and fisheries management on the Chugach National Forest occurs in cooperation with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Forest recreation use has been increasing as the population of Southcentral Alaska (particularly in the Anchorage area) has grown and because of a steady increase in tourism. Approximately 90 percent of the recorded use occurs on the Kenai Peninsula. The Prince William Sound area is also experiencing increasing recreation use pressures, and if plans for improved access to the Sound are realized in the near future, this will intensify.
The Forest Service conducts planning activities and makes decisions for administering the Tongass and Chugach Forests in accordance with provisions of the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) of 1976, the National Environmental Policy Act of 1970, other applicable legislation, and related implementing regulations.
Planning is continuous at and between each of the above levels rather than sequential. Continuous monitoring, evaluation, and adjustment through amendment and revision is required by NFMA for the Forest Plans. All activities remain subject to site-specific and continuing compliance with Federal environmental laws. The Forest Service publicizes and conducts public participation activities to obtain adequate public input as part of the planning processes at each level. The Forest Service decisions made at each level are subject to public review and appeal. Judicial review is also available at those points of the decision-making process that represent "final agency action" and present a judicial controversy. In general, management decisions become progressively more specific at each lower level.
Planning is done at three levels: the regional level, the forest level, and the project level. At the Regional Level, a Regional Guide and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) are required under provisions of the NFMA implementing regulations (36 CFR 219). The 1983 Alaska Regional Guide established standards and guidelines for Forest Service activities, and described measures for coordinating the National Forest System, State and Private Forestry, and Research programs of the Forest Service in Alaska (among other provisions).
At the Forest Level, a Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP) and EIS are required for each Forest under provisions of the NFMA and 36 CFR 219. Forest Plans are to be amended as needed and revised every 10-15 years. Forest Plans provide direction for all resource management programs, practices, uses, and protection measures. The multiple-use goals, objectives, land allocations, and other programmatic direction they contain establish the "ordinance" under which future project decisions are made. The status of the two Forest Level plans in this region is as follows:
The Tongass is the largest national forest in the nation. The present Tongass Land Management Plan or "TLMP" was completed in 1997 and a revised Record of Decision was issued in 1999. Contact John Sherrod, Planning Staff Officer, Tongass National Forest, 204 Siginaka Way, Sitka, AK 99835-7316, telephone 907-747-6671. http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/tongass/
Chugach National Forest: Land and Resource
Management Plan
The present plan is being revised with completion
expected in 2001. Contact Chuck Frey, Planning Staff
Officer, Chugach National Forest, 3301 C Street, Suite
300, Anchorage, AK 99503-3998, telephone 907-271-2500.
http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/chugach/
At the Project Level, planning and decision-making implements the management practices that are designed each year to achieve the goals and objectives of the current Forest Plans. This involves additional site-specific analysis to meet NEPA requirements.
Primary contacts for information about Forest Service planning and decision-making processes are:
Regional Office
USDA Forest Service, Alaska Region
Box 21628
Juneau, AK 99802-1628
907-586-8886
907-586-7852 fax
tcastillo@fs.fed.us
Chugach National Forest
Chugach National Forest
3301 C Street, Suite 300
Anchorage, AK 95503-3998(907) 271-2500
Tongass National Forest
Planning Staff Officer
Tongass National Forest
204 Siginaka Way
Sitka, AK 99835
(907) 747-6671
Stikine Area:
Planning Staff Officer
Tongass National Forest
PO Box 309
Petersburg, AK 99833
(907) 772-3314
Ketchikan Area:
Planning Staff Officer
Tongass National Forest
Federal Building
Ketchikan, AK 99901 (907) 225-3101
