Instead, the document focuses on other threats to forest ecosystems, including wildfire and disease outbreaks, and promotes timber harvesting as a tool to improve stand health and resilience amid climate effects and other stressors. I think the whole country is watching very closely to see what Biden will do, Jackson says. a Trump-era rule that lifted Clinton-era logging restrictions across 9 million acres of Alaskas Tongass National Forest, the worlds largest intact temperate rainforest. Are Putin and Trump Playing Russian Roulette? The five species of salmon that the Indigenous first peoples of Alaska harvest and preserve are built into a complex distribution system based on 10,000 years of tradition, and represent a core element of their social gatherings. 12. Older forests provide the most above-ground carbon storage potential on Earth, with mature forests and larger trees driving most accumulation of forest carbon in the critical next few decades, they wrote in a letter to Biden the day before he signed the executive order. 668 were here. The owl came under federal protection one year earlier when it was listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. But he says it is clear the Forest Service is dragging its feet on proposing a rule, nevermind one that confronts the ongoing threat of logging to older forests. It also abounds in animals and birds and fish, with unsurpassed scenery and hardy people. Bush administration threatened to drive the species to extinction. The old growth redwood stores more carbon than any other tree, yet, when cut down, it loses its capacity to store carbon. Due to this size, the Tongass is divided into ten ranger districts. Senator Dan Sullivan, the Alaska Republican, called the rule overly-burdensome, accused the Biden administration of harming his states economy and said he would retaliate by blocking the presidents nominees. In British Columbia and Alaska, there is no place too remote, no terrain too inaccessible for todays loggers and miners; corporate loggers load raw timber directly onto ships bound for Asia. The Biden administration said Friday it would prohibit road building in half of Alaska's Tongass National Forest, resurrecting 20-year-old protections Donald Trump had stripped three months . The forest surrounds the iconic Inside Passage home to brown bears, spawning salmon, bald eagles, Alexander Archipelago wolves, and the majestic humpback whales. And not just the remnant (4%) redwood is facing the axe. We live today in an age of multiple crises, including one of extinction what is to become of us? But it stopped short of recognizing logging as an ongoing threat to primary forests or proposing to safeguard ancient trees from harvest. It calls for forest health treatments on an additional 50 million acres of forested land, both public and private, across the nation over the next 10 years more than double current levels. Ketchikan Misty Fjords Ranger District Those in the pipeline include the Bitterroot Front Project, in Montanas Bitterroot National Forest, where 55,000 acres of trees, including mature and old growth, are. When these forests are logged, the carbon that they had been storing is released back into the atmosphere. Here in Mendocino County in Northern California, the Fisher family (the Gap) Corporations Mendocino Redwood Company alone owns 228,000 acres of redwood timberland and logs it. Early in his tenure, Biden found himself on. This forest is home to mountain lions, wolves, moose, mountain sheep and grizzly bears; theKermode (spirit) bear is also found here, a unique subspecies of theblack bear in which one in ten cubs displays arecessivewhite colored coat. 27 Jun 2023 20:55:59 This ancient swath of nature is part of the United States largest national forest, which is a key habitat for wild Pacific salmon and trout and boasts the highest density of brown bears in North America. The decision is the latest in a series of Biden administration moves reversing actions by Mr. Trump designed to ease the way for fossil fuel development and mineral extraction on public lands. The recent federal inventory, mandated by Biden's executive order and released in April, found there are approximately 32.7 million acres of old-growth and 80.1 million acres of mature forest across the federal estate a combined area slightly larger than California. How Big is the Tongass National Forest? Jim Furnish, a former deputy chief of the Forest Service in the Clinton administration, has closely monitored the agencys actions in the wake of Bidens executive order on protecting mature and old-growth forests. Restoring the road prohibitions listens to the voices of Tribal Nations and the people of Southeast Alaska while recognizing the importance of fishing and tourism to the regions economy, he said. And theyve been doing that for the last 30-something years.. The Forest Service did not make Swanston available for an interview. In recent months, BLM and the Forest Service each took a step toward fulfilling the White House directive actions that green groups widely celebrated as long-overdue moves toward balancing conservation with drilling, mining, logging and other development on public lands. Alaskans deserve access to the resources that the Tongass provides jobs, renewable energy resources and tourism, not a government plan that treats human beings within a working forest like an invasive species, he wrote. To put into context how critical salmon are to Southeast Alaska, the USDA also noted that nearly 90% of rural households in Southeast Alaska consume salmon, and on average, a resident of Southeast Alaskas rural communities consumes 75 pounds of salmon per year, while the U.S. national average for seafood consumption is less than 15 pounds per person per year. I have found it unsettling but not surprising that the Forest Service has been loath to mention the word logging, said Furnish, who has become an outspoken critic of his former agencys management approach since retiring in 2002. Tongass National Forest - National Forest Foundation We very ambitiously set out to thin a lot of the old clear-cut units. Defending America's Climate Forest - Earthjustice Lisa Friedman reports on federal climate and environmental policy from Washington. US to end large, old-growth timber sales in Alaska forest - Phys.org She recalls an elder who had everything taken from him, who was forced to burn his belongings, and was given a jumpsuit with a number on it to identify him. Tongass National Forest | ALASKA.ORG And not just in height. The Upper Cheat River Project, in West Virginias Monongahela National Forest, targets 3,400 acres of mature forest, including stands that are more than 100 years old. Tongass National Forest - America's Rainforests Its Americas last climate sanctuary.. Image Credit: Marina Anderson, Its not food, its the fabric of my being, says Marina Anderson, tribal leader for the Organized Village of Kasan on Prince of Wales Island. Trump Administration Releases Plan to Open Tongass Forest to Logging He can be reached at cwinslow@mcn.org, Our Amazon: the Coastal Temperate Rain Forest, Radical Seattle: the General Strike of 1919, The Taft-Hartley Act: Neutrality as a Weapon, Top Ten China Hawks Most Likely to Start a War with Beijing. The Tongass National Forest ( / ts /) in Southeast Alaska is the largest U.S. National Forest at 16.7 million acres (26,100 sq mi; 6,800,000 ha; 68,000 km 2 ). Thinning of smaller trees, especially when followed by prescribed fire, is, That tunnel vision, he said, is clearest when visiting logging projects and timber sales in places like the, an area of the Black Hills where loggers were allowed to conduct overstory removal cutting down nearly every mature tree . Tongass National Forest. The redwood forest is in fact just the anchor of an enormous forest, the temperate rainforest that occupies the North American coast from California to the Alaskan islands, an unbroken blanket of coniferous trees, including the tallest trees on earth. 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In an email statement, USDA spokesperson Larry Moore said it is premature to speculate on timing for any potential future regulatory actions as federal law requires the agency to consider all comments submitted during the rulemaking process. Fall Colors the Muskeg on Alaska's Tongass National Forest This spectacular 17 million acre region supports abundant wildlife, including such priority bird species as the Marbled Murrelet. They will always remember that number because it was the first time a new identity had been placed upon them. He has grown increasingly disappointed with its resistance to change. Clear cutting in the Tongass National Forest. Hanson highlighted research that shows harvesting mature trees in an effort to save them from fire actually emits roughly three times more carbon per acre than wildfire alone and that thinning and other fuel reduction activities can at times increase fire severity by altering a forests microclimate. Image Credit: Phillip Gladkov. And salmon, anadromous fish that spend most of their lives at sea but return to the streams of their birth to spawn. I simply dont think they see a way through if they dont have free and ready access to chainsaws cutting down a lot of mature and old-growth trees to reduce the density of a lot of these stands, he said. In British Columbia, the forests thicken and are often accessible only by sea. The California coast redwoods are unique, but only to a degree. We have not rebounded from the boarding schools and blatant attempts at colonization, because colonization is still happening, and we're having to fight it every day, Anderson says. They are host to an unseen habitat where another world flourishes, this one in the canopy, an ecosystem that is home to flying squirrels, salamanders, spotted owls, bats and the ancient marbled murrelets. In an email statement, USDA spokesperson Larry Moore said. The Tongass National Forest Road Trip Guide - Drivin' & Vibin' Tongass National Forest - Wikipedia Still everywhere these forests are threatened. The Forest Service is responding to the direction in the executive orders and Secretarial Memo with data-informed tools, strategies, policy recommendations, and systems for accountability for fire and climate resilience, climate adaptation, reforestation, ecosystem and watershed restoration, ecosystem services, mature and old growth forests, and carbon stewardship, as well as related investments in community engagement, partnerships, collaboration and equity, Moore said. With that money now in hand, the Forest Service is under intense pressure to deliver, Furnish said. The dense canopy of this misty Alaskan wilderness is made up of towering western hemlock, red and yellow cedar, and Sitka spruce trees, some of which are between 300 and 1,000 years old. Some old-growth trees in the Tongass are hundreds of years old, so it would take a very long time for the forest to regain such a huge amount of carbon, Law explained. Not doing so could sink the prospects of a rule ever being put in place. The Tongass National Forest sustains the lands and people of Southeast Alaska,. It is home to the Tlingit, Haida, and Tshimsian Peoples. Tongass National Forest, which has been called Americas Amazon, is also home to rare earth minerals, making it a place of intense interest to state and local leaders who say it should be mined to create jobs and bolster Alaskas economy. In addition to prohibiting road construction a first step toward new logging the United States Forest Service plan also puts an end to large scale logging of old growth timber across the forests entire 16 million acres. Tom Vilsack, the agriculture secretary, said the effort would protect cedar, hemlock and Sitka spruce trees many of them more than 800 years old that provide essential habitats for 400 species of wildlife, including bald eagles, salmon and the worlds greatest concentration of black bears. Thirty years later, everyone celebrates the Siuslaw as the wonderful win-win meets its timber quota, doesnt log old growth, coho salmon are recovering, everyone loves it, yet the agency has resisted imposing that example on forested land elsewhere, Pedery said. Published July 14, 2021 Updated Sept. 15, 2021 WASHINGTON The Biden administration is moving to restore full environmental protections for Tongass National Forest in Alaska, reversing an. Most of those are old-growth forests. I disagree with that premise entirely.. There are many reasons to save the Tongass. This rulemaking, theyre doing it begrudgingly, but definitely theres a view, I think, from agency leadership that what theyre being asked to do is at odds with that baked-in desire to get out there with some chainsaws and fix some stuff.. Surely, habitat restoration is called for, not more destruction, lest this silent slaughter continue. The forest cools the earth, deters wildfire, cleanses water and air and provides shelter for hundreds of creatures, including scores of threatened species, above all the salmon. In the past, scientists were divided on whether it was better to focus on the stewardship of ancient forests, or to prioritize the replanting of new, young forests. That tunnel vision, he said, is clearest when visiting logging projects and timber sales in places like the Green Mountain National Forest in Vermont, the Black Hills National Forest in South Dakota and ApacheSitgreaves National Forest in Arizona. The White House also issued new directives for assessing greenhouse gas emissions in federal environmental reviews, replacing guidelines that had been withdrawn by Mr. Trump. They're doing a lot of work in climate mitigation, and what we need to do is let them continue that work, because once you harvest these big trees with a high carbon density, its as if you are robbing the Fort Knox of carbon reserves., In fact, a new study published in early November concluded that, protecting and growing more large trees is the most effective option for accumulating more carbon out of the atmosphere, and will benefit other ecosystem services as well.. Projecting demand for timber from the Tongass National Forest To Anderson, the increased logging and development of the Tongass will adversely affect the Haida tribe and their connection to their ancestral homeland. The jewel in all this forest is the Tongass in Alaska, 16.8 million acres. 11 Alaska Native tribes offer new way forward on managing the Tongass Last month, the Biden administration extended protections to rivers, marshes and waterways that the Trump administration tried to repeal. 'America's Climate Forest' Now Safe From Major Old-Growth Logging Brown and black bears gorge themselves on salmon in preparation for hibernation, bald eagles feast on the spoils of these fish, and wolves even wade into the rivers to hunt for salmon. US to end large, old-growth timber sales in Alaska forest Baker, another the 8,000-foot Mt Olympus shelter idyllic islands whose waters are home to the last of the southern Orcas. In June and July, five species of salmon leave the Pacific Ocean and return to this region to lay their eggs in the same freshwater streams where they were born. Nugget Falls Juneau, Alaska. To me it is patently obvious that field managers from forest supervisors, rangers, foresters on down they simply dont get climate change, forest carbon, mature and old growth, he said. These productive lands and waters are the reason that the Haida, Tlingit, and Tsimshian tribes and their cultures have thrived in this region for over 10,000 years. If the forests are allowed to grow, they can continue to accumulate live carbon for hundreds of years, as observed in the Pacific Northwest, Law says. Since we have seen firsthand the destruction of the resources and habitat that our community depends on, we seek to protect what is left., Jackson made it clear that his community is prioritizing longevity over profits. Alaska Region's T2IA interagency handcrew is helping with the International Wildfire Crisis effort. In late October, President Trump announced plans to open up more than half of Alaskas 17 million acre Tongass National Forest to logging and other forms of development, downgrading safeguards that had protected it for nearly two decades. Left vulnerable to logging, though, they cannot fulfill these vital functions.. Redwood grove, southern Humboldt County, California. , in Oregons Willamette National Forest, which would have allowed for about 2,000 acres of mature and old-growth Douglas fir and western hemlock to be cut down. We are trying desperately to make sure the White House stays involved, he said. So, one finds narrow fiords, deep fingers of water rivalling those of Norway, fouled by run off of clear cutting and metal mining. In justifying development in what has been described as an ecological oasis, the Trump administration is presenting an argument that many scientists disagree with: that any emissions from logging will be temporary, due to the timber sequestering carbon in building materials while the forest regrows and stockpiles even more CO2. Tessa Axelson, executive director of the Alaska Forest Association, which represents timber companies in Southeast Alaska, said the industry is disappointed but not surprised by the rule. Ninety-six percent of Alaskans surveyed by the USDA say salmon are essential to the Alaskan way of life. The Forest Service has kind of blithely allowed local national forest units to just keep on cutting mature and old-growth forests as if the executive order did not exist, he added. Its approximately 26,560 square miles (68,790 square km), composed of (volcanic) mountainous offshore archipelagos and rugged fjord-indented coastline, include some of the . Trees globally remove about 30% of the additional carbon dioxide that we add to the atmosphere, Law says. Early in his tenure, Biden found himself on shaky ground with green groups over the administrations lack of commitment to protect these carbon hotspots. A humpback whale near the boundary of the Tongass National Forest. 01:07. Furnish agrees the White House must do more to force the Forest Services hand. Within these schools, there were reports of physical and sexual abuse, and children were beaten for speaking their native langauages, according to a University of Alaska study on the long-term effect of boarding schools on Alaska Natives. Lets be clear, they dont have to propose these giant logging projects, said Chad Hanson, forest ecologist at the John Muir Projects Earth Island Institute. 11 Alaska Native tribes offer new way forward on managing the Tongass (Against 'one way' communication) High Country News - Know the West Forests 11 Alaska Native tribes offer new way forward. The Forest Service did not make Swanston available for an interview. On their northern reach, the redwoods blend into the Douglas fir of Oregon and Washington, gigantic trees in their own right, which then give way in northern British Columbia and Alaska to red cedar, Sitka spruce and western hemlock.
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