Forested Landscapes

Since SEAWEAD’s inception in 1999 we have cooperated with a broad spectrum of our community in the study of several species and habitats. Based on this experience we have begun a project that is intended to weave what we have learned about the nature of Southeast into a holistic approach to landscape ecology.

Last season we embarked on our first field excursions in this effort. During June and July we employed our rapid survey techniques in about a dozen watersheds ranging in location from Chichagof to Prince of Wales islands. We collected information on a variety of species and habitats in each system and are taking a serious – ground-truthed - look at the challenge of restoring and maintaining healthy ecosystems while providing opportunities for sustainable development.

We have many partners and supporters in this effort and our goal is to create an information pool for each audience to draw from. If you are interested in this effort please visit our online discussion forum and let us know what kinds of information you would hope for. At present some of the key concepts we are looking at are: ecosystem function, habitat connectivity, high-grading/proportionality, habitat restoration, habitat enhancements and habitat buffers.

click here to view a slide show of a timber sale field survey. click here to view a larger map of this season’s survey route. This project is just getting started so stay tuned for more news as things develop.

Forested Landscapes

This season's survey route - click to see larger version

Since SEAWEAD’s inception in 1999 we have cooperated with a broad spectrum of our community in the study of several species and habitats. Based on this experience we have established a program that is intended to weave what we have learned about the nature of Southeast into a holistic approach to landscape ecology.

In 2005 we embarked on our first field excursions in this effort as part of the Sitka Conservation Society's (SCS) Tongass Ground-truthing Project . During June and July our two top naturalists Richard and Bob employed rapid survey techniques in about a dozen watersheds ranging in location from Chichagof to Prince of Wales islands. We collected information on a variety of species and habitats in each system that support taking a serious – ground-truthed - look at the challenge of restoring and maintaining healthy ecosystems while providing opportunities for sustainable development.

Big tree forest on the Cleveland Peninsula

Since 2005 we have visited additional sites on Prince of Wales Island, Kuiu Island, Kosciusko Island, Mitkof Island, Baranof Island and Chichagof Island. During that time the focus of the Ground-truthing Project has shifted to concentrate more on the restoration of salmon and deer habitat in previously logged watersheds and identifying forest types and watersheds that are the most suitable for long-term timber management. Thus our partnership with SCS in this work has become more and more in harmony with the collaborative mission of SEAWEAD.

In 2007 a new project was started in partnership with the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council (SEACC) called the Hoonah Community Forest Project. For this effort we are taking what we have learned from 3 years of ground-truthing across the Tongass and applying it in the development of a guide to resilient landscape design for the forested landscape immediately around Hoonah, Alaska.

We have many partners and supporters in this effort and our goal is to create an information pool for each audience to draw from. At present some of the key concepts we are looking at are: ecosystem services, habitat connectivity, high-grading/proportionality, habitat restoration, tree-farming, habitat enhancements and habitat buffers.

click here to view a slide show of a timber sale field survey. click here to view a larger map of the 2005 survey route.

Hoonah Community Forest Project

The purpose of the Hoonah Community Forest project is to provide tools and recommendations for management of the landscape that is immediately accessible to the community of Hoonah, Alaska i.e. “The Hoonah Community Forest”. The emphasis in this project has been on assessment and site selection for restoration and maintenance of salmon and deer habitat because of their central role in Cultural and Traditional Uses and local economics. The community has also expressed an interest in the continued existence of value-added wood product mills (and the jobs that come with them). For that reason consideration was also given to the location and scale of old-growth harvest that could coincide along with high standards for fish and wildlife productivity.

Existing data, experiences from ground-truthing visits and interviews with locals were synthesized in the production of a management guide map that includes three general land use designations: Wilderness Opportunity, Fish and Wildlife Priority and Timber Opportunity. Check out the report.

Tongass Conservation Strategies

The Tongass Land Management Plan (TLMP) is the primary document used to manage public lands in Southeast Alaska. A draft for the 2008 version of TLMP was recently released and is currently out for comment.

A coalition of conservation groups (Southeast Alaska Conservation Society, Sitka Conservation Society, The Nature Conservancy, Audubon Alaska, Trout Unlimited, The Wilderness Society, Alaska Conservation Foundation, Alaska Wilderness League) is in the process of developing an alternate conservation strategy.

SEAWEAD naturalists Richard Carstensen and Bob Christensen recently wrote an independent opinion piece that compares and critiques these conservation strategies. The document covers a wide array of issues important to understanding the delicate balance between economic development and ecological integrity in Southeast Alaska. Although this document is not an official SEAWEAD report, we provide a link here for interested parties and encourage all who are up for digging a little deeper into Tongass conservation to check it out. The cover letter for this report follows...

Ground-truthing

Ground-truthing is a term used by foresters and geologists referring to field-verification of maps and aerial imagery. In 2005, SEAWEAD naturalists Bob Christensen and Richard Carstensen partnered with the Sitka Conservation Society to develop and support the Tongass Ground-truthing project . The purpose of this effort is to investigate past and proposed timber projects throughout Southeast Alaska and pass on our observations of the condition of the landscape, and what might be done to improve it, to the public at large.

“Ground-truthers” travel to remote watersheds where past and present timber activities are rarely observed by the public. We compile retrospective analyses of the character of logged forests and streams, and of existing old-growth stands inside future cutting units.

Ground-truthers are “eyes and ears in the woods” for Southeast’s conservation-minded community members. But we also take field documentation to the next level, analyzing patterns of logging in GIS (Geographic Information Systems), evaluating landscape connectivity for wildlife, assessing the opportunity for salmon and deer habitat restoration work, and critiquing Land Use Designations.