JUNEAU (May 15, 2008) - The Wilderness Society issued the following statement today, appealing for a new Tongass Land Management Plan that reflects current economic, social, and ecological trends and realities:
After careful review of the latest version of the final management plan for the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska, The Wilderness Society today is calling on the Forest Service to create a new plan. For decades, management of the Tongass National Forest has focused almost exclusively on timber, at the expense of other valuable resources, including fish and wildlife, and cultural and recreational uses. The latest Tongass Land Management Plan (2008 TLMP) continues this trend, despite economic, social, and ecological realities that demonstrate both a need and opportunity for a more balanced approach to forest management. A new plan is required not only to fully acknowledge and address the multiple uses and values of the forest beyond timber but also to apply the best available science to management decisions. The need for this more diverse approach is supported by a variety of experts who agree that Tongass forest management can evolve to sustain not only small-scale timber operations, but also preserve ecological integrity, and benefit broad community interests, forest uses, and economic opportunities.
The current plan is out of step with economic reality. Demand for Tongass timber has been steadily declining, but the Forest Service continues to base its timber program on projections that demand will increase. At the same time, the agency's timber suitability analysis includes lands that are not cost efficient for timber production. Such economic assumptions bias the 2008 TLMP in favor of large-scale timber production, and do so on the basis of outdated or inaccurate information that is contrary to economic realities. In fact, timber represents an important, but very small percentage of the Southeast Alaska economy. Only one percent of all jobs in the region are timber-based. Today, the activities that drive Southeast Alaska's economy depend on protecting the forest's scenic views, watersheds, fisheries, and roadless areas. Commercial fishing, recreation and tourism are the biggest growth sectors of the economy, and non-timber uses of the forest contribute as much as 90 times more to Alaska's economy than the timber industry. As open space, wildlife, and wilderness values become even scarcer throughout the world, these qualities of the Tongass will only become more valuable.
The current plan falls short in addressing cumulative impacts, and restoration opportunities. Past timber practices have degraded salmon streams, altered scenic views, and undermined habitat for deer and other wildlife. These impacts have a cost, affecting future opportunities for subsistence, recreation, tourism, and the realization of other non-timber benefits offered by the forest. By failing to adequately account for past impacts and consider the cumulative effects of future timber activities, Forest Service planning neglects a significant element of its management responsibilities – to maintain healthy populations of fish and wildlife and ensure intact ecosystems for future generations. A new management plan should not only include a more thorough analysis of cumulative impacts, but also restoration activities to begin to mitigate past impacts. Existing restoration projects on the Tongass are already demonstrating success by creating new jobs, improving salmon and other wildlife habitat, and bringing together diverse members of the community to achieve common goals.
A new plan should account for economic, social, and ecological realities and values. By continuing to push for logging in ecologically and culturally important places, including irreplaceable roadless areas, the Tongass Land Management Plan puts millions of acres of the most valuable wildlife habitat, recreation areas, and old-growth forest at risk. This practice does not make economic, social, or ecological sense and it is time for a new plan that accounts for the multiple uses and values of the forest.
The Tongass National Forest is one of the last intact rainforests of its kind on earth. Its thriving salmon streams, abundant wildlife, scenic views, and old-growth trees provide many benefits that, if properly managed, can sustain local communities for generations to come. Included among those benefits are the responses to climate change a forest can offer. For example, wilderness, roadless areas, and other protected forest lands that are managed to support healthy, intact ecosystems, are important tools for ensuring species are not lost as a result of climate change. By protecting the most important watersheds and other habitat for species, resiliency can be maintained and species provided with the time and space to adapt to change free from disturbances caused by human activity. Reducing the scale of the Tongass timber program will also help ensure a greater chance of adaptability.
The Wilderness Society believes that the Forest Service should manage the Tongass in a manner that reflects its true worth, investing in stewardship activities that more accurately reflect market conditions, that apply the most relevant science, that respect community values, and that benefit current and future generations. Some examples include: restoring high value watersheds previously impacted by logging; shifting timber production from old-growth to young-growth; establishing a harvest level more appropriately scaled to existing market demand from local mills; and permanently protecting ecologically and socially valuable areas of the forest. Especially as global climate change threatens to alter natural systems, it is critical that we protect what few healthy ecosystems remain.
The Wilderness Society's mission is to protect Wilderness and inspire Americans to care for our wild places. The organization is part of the Tongass Futures Roundtable and has been working with this group, including the Forest Service, to find management solutions for the Tongass that make better economic sense, support local cultural interests, and continue to provide for diverse, vibrant communities, and healthy ecosystems. The 2008 TLMP does little to resolve these issues, and we will continue to work collaboratively with the Forest Service and other partners to identify positive solutions for future Tongass management.
