![]() Alaska’s largest visitor industry group is urging Congress and the Forest Service to reverse a sharp decline in funding forrecreation programs in the country’s largest national forest, the Tongass. The Alaska Travel Industry Association, a statewide organization of tourism operators, passed a resolution this spring pointing out that the Forest Service is downsizing its Tongass recreation program and is initiating a “decommissioning program” that will close certain facilities, limiting access to public lands. The funding cuts are affecting Alaska landmarks such as Juneau’s Mendenhall Glacier and surrounding recreation area, as well as many campgrounds, hiking trails and visitor centers across the Tongass National Forest, which cloaks most of Southeast Alaska in coastal, temperate rain forest. As ATIA’s president and chief executive Sarah Leonard notes, these lands are not only important to Alaskans but are also essential to the 240 travel-related businesses and sole proprietors who hold special use permits to operate on the Tongass. Tourism is the largest private-sector employer in the region. In her op-ed published in the Juneau Empire, Leonard pointed out the Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) also questioned the Tongass budget cuts in a recent hearing in Congress and asked Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell to reconsider the issue. (While the Forest Service cuts funding for Tongass recreation programs that support the region’s robust tourism and fishing industries, it continues to spend more than $20 million annually on old-growth timber sales and logging roads, an industry that barely supports around 100 private-sector jobs.) Read Leonard’s op-ed. ![]() by Teresa Haugh, U.S. Forest Service, Alaska. Alaska’s Chugach and Tongass national forests are sometimes referred to as salmon forests, producing all five species of wild Pacific salmon: king, coho, sockeye, pink, and chum. Salmon is vital to Alaska’s economy, and last year’s statewide commercial salmon harvest is being noted as a banner year. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced the salmon harvested in 2013 set a new record at 272 million fish. About 45 percent, or 122 million, of these commercially harvested salmon relied on habitat managed by the U.S. Forest Service. Much of the harvest consisted of pink salmon, the most abundant of salmon found in Alaska. Don Martin, the aquatic and fish program leader for the Alaska Region, said that 95 percent of the habitat where pink salmon spawn in Southeast Alaska is on the Tongass National Forest. The work of Forest Service fish biologists contribute to the health and viability of these salmon. “We have never been able to say, ‘We did this work, therefore, there are this many more salmon,’ ” Martin said. “What we do to contribute to the well-being of the salmon is to maintain their habitat. Science has taught us that good habitat means higher fish production, so we bank on that.” Currently, the vast majority of the watersheds on the Chugach and Tongass national forests function very well. The region is working to restore the few watersheds that do not function well. During logging activities 40 to 60 years ago, trees were harvested right up to the edge of salmon streams. When all that wood was removed from the floodplain, eventually the logs in the creek rotted away, and there were none to replace them. This led to habitat degradation. Fortunately, Forest Service fish biologists have been successful in restoration efforts. Martin explained that for certain-sized streams at certain gradients, logs are a key component needed to maintain the number and frequency of pools found within the stream. The salmon, particularly coho salmon, need this environmental complexity in their habitat to thrive. “We are actually going into the streams with big equipment and finding large pieces of wood in the watershed or elsewhere, and placing them in the creeks,” Martin said. “We are building log jams and big root wads to immediately add back the complexity of the creek. We work to restore a natural cycle so that by the time that wood starts to rot out, there will be big trees next to the creek that will fall in and take its place.” The effectiveness of watershed restoration can be seen immediately, Martin said. “The next year after the first high water event, we can go see that there are more pools, and deeper pools. It just looks like better habitat,” he said. “The big question is whether the logs will stay in the stream long enough for the forest to grow back and begin contributing fallen logs back into the stream. That’s probably 60 or 70 years down the road.” The region’s Fisheries and Watershed Program work with Alaska Native organizations and individuals, incorporating their cultural beliefs into the forest’s salmon and fisheries management programs. A short video provides more information on how Forest Service involvement in a monitoring program provides salmon for people across the country as well as Haida Alaska Natives who call the forest home. People around the world can watch the annual Alaska salmon run as they make the pilgrimage to their final spawning grounds before they die. In 2013, viewers logged more than 10,000 hours watching the Tongass National Forest’s live streaming Salmon Cam, making it the most popular Forest Service-related video on YouTube. Watch for the live cam to return in mid-summer 2014. Reblogged from the USDA Blog ![]() By Laurie Cooper It’s go time in the Tongass National Forest as Alaska’s southern panhandle gears up for the 2014 travel season. Drawn by the region’s rich cultural and natural resources, nearly 70 percent of all Alaska visitors this summer will travel to Southeast Alaska making it the state’s top summer destination for tourists. Beginning in late April, residents will once again share their town and its backyard wilderness with just over 1 million visitors. A must-see for most tourists is the Mendenhall Glacier, a natural wonder just 14 miles from downtown Juneau. As one of the most road-accessible glaciers in the world, Mendenhall tops the list as the most visited Forest Service site in Alaska. Surrounded by lush rainforest and towering mountains, the Mendenhall Glacier is part of a 5,800 acre recreational area managed by the Forest Service as part of the 17-million-acre Tongass National Forest. “The Mendenhall offers world-class opportunities for our guests. They can experience a wide range of recreational activities within a dynamic and evolving landscape,” said Jeremy Gieser, director of tours and marketing with Gastineau Guiding Company, one 21 tourism companies permitted to operate at the glacier. Unlike most recreation sites across the Tongass, most visitors will experience the Mendenhall Glacier via commercial tour operators like Gastineau Guiding Company. These companies rely on the Forest Service to maintain the recreational area while adapting to the evolving tourism market and visitor trends. But lately the Forest Service appears unable to keep pace and the Mendenhall is showing signs of wear and tear. In the past 15 years, the number of visitors to Mendenhall has doubled and the expectation is that this trend will continue. The Forest Service anticipates hosting just over 440,000 visitors this summer at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center and Interpretative site. “The 2014 season looks to be strong,” said Kirby Day, manager of port operations and passenger logistics in Alaska for Princess Cruises. “And with more cruise passengers comes additional visitation at Mendenhall and pressure on the outdated and aging public facilities including the visitor center, trails, restrooms, and parking/staging areas.” The Forest Service acknowledges that burgeoning demand is outpacing the agency’s available resources and its capacity to improve access, services and facilities at the glacier. John Neary, Mendenhall Glacier visitor center director, said the current year budget is just enough to “keep the doors open.” Beyond covering essential operational costs, the Forest Service’s budget for the Mendenhall is inadequate. The facility needs $800,000 in deferred maintenance for repairs to deteriorating rock walls, stairways and path systems, and roofing on structures; an estimated $8,000,000 for additional restrooms, bus and parking structures, trails and platforms for safe bear viewing, and restoration of salmon habitat; and $200,000 for programs and staffing to ensure safe bear viewing, adequate visitor management, and optimal interpretation. In recent years, Forest Service investment in the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center programs and facilities has plummeted. Between 2013 and 2014, funding allocated from congressional appropriations was cut in half from $200,000 to just over $100,000 covering only 10 percent of the annual operating and maintenance budget. With the drop in federal investment, the Forest Service has increasingly relied on revenue collected from fees paid by businesses and visitors to cover basic costs. These funds are meant to be used to enhance facilities and services in order to provide visitors with a quality experience. The decline of Forest Service investment in the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center parallels a sharp decrease in federal investment for recreation and visitor-related services across the Tongass. Since 2009, congressionally appropriated funding for Tongass recreation has dropped by nearly half. During the same general timeframe, Southeast Alaska’s visitor industry employment has increased by seven percent and employment income in this sector has seen a ten percent increase. Southeast Alaska’s Tongass National Forest is a bucket-list destination for world travelers and their trips help propel the region’s economy. With 80 percent of the region’s land base in the Tongass National Forest, the visitor industry depends upon the Forest Service to be a strong and effective partner in delivering world-class experiences to their clients. If the partnership is to thrive, the funding problem at Mendenhall Glacier and across the region needs to be fixed. Any solution must include increasing congressional appropriations for the Tongass recreation program as well as finding ways to leverage additional resources through new partnerships and alternative funding sources. Laurie Cooper is the Recreation and Tourism Liaison staffer for Trout Unlimited, Alaska Program. ![]() Commercial fishermen and tribal leaders from Southeast Alaska are in Washington, D.C, this week. They’re there to press for U.S. State Department action to protect their region’s copius wild salmon runs, thriving tourism industry, and cultural resources from large-scale mine projects planned for neighboring British Columbia. Southeast Alaska is home to the lush, 17-million-acres Tongass National Forest. Five big B.C. mines are proposed for development upstream from Southeast Alaska in watersheds that produce healthy and lucrative salmon runs. The group in D.C., carrying a letter signed by 40 organizations, tribes and individuals, says safeguards are currently lacking to ensure that Canadian mine development doesn’t harm one of Southeast Alaska’s main economic engines — salmon. The mine projects are in a very bad location from a fishing standpoint. They sit in the headwaters of the Taku, Unuk and Stikine Rivers. These international rivers support important commercial, sport, and customary and traditional fisheries. The Taku is typically Southeast Alaska’s single largest overall salmon producer. The Stikine is the second largest and the Unuk, which drains into Misty Fjords National Monunment, is one of the top four king salmon producers in the region. The Unuk’s eulachon run support an important customary and traditional fishery especially important to tribal members. Salmon need clean water and pristine habitat to thrive, the group says. Pollution from upstream mining activity could not only directly harm salmon. It could jeopardize Alaska’s multi-million-dollar seafood and tourism marketing efforts. “We cannot afford to sit quietly as these mines are being developed on an accelerated timeline. The risk of pollution in the form of acid mine drainage is very real, while the benefit of these mines to Alaska is basically zero. We are asking the Alaska delegation to see that the State Department protects our downstream interests and works with Canada to ensure this unique international salmon-producing region is not negatively impacted by industrial development,” said Brian Lynch, executive director of Petersburg Vessel Owners Association. Read the letter the group sent to the Alaska congressional delegation and a news release. ![]() by Rob A. Sanderson, Jr. FOR THE JUNEAU EMPIRE My grandmother who raised me taught me an important lesson — take care of the land and water, and it will take care of our present and future generations. I try to live by that principle every day. That’s why I’m speaking out about industrial developments happening near my home in Southeast Alaska. These developments are occurring across the border in Canada, but they have the potential to pollute Southeast Alaska rivers and harm our wild salmon. There’s been a big push to open mines in northwest British Columbia. Over a dozen large mines are planned or in development in B.C. Five are located in salmon-producing watersheds that flow into Southeast Alaska. The B.C. and federal Canadian governments are aggressively promoting these regulations by relaxing environmental regulations and offering multimillion-dollar tax incentives to mining companies. I’m not against development. As a single father raising a teenage son, I understand the value of hard work to provide a better future for our children. As an Alaska Native and a fisherman, I know how critical our wild salmon are our culture, economy and future here in Southeast Alaska. I became aware of what’s happening in B.C. when Seabridge Gold showed up in Ketchikan in 2011. Seabridge held an open house to let residents know their plans to develop a massive gold and copper mine in the headwaters of the Unuk River, one of Southeast Alaska’s largest king salmon producers and a traditional and customary river for hooligan fishing. What they are envisioning really frightened me. Seabridge is in the process of seeking permits to develop what could be the world’s largest gold mine. The proposed Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell (KSM) mine is located about 50 miles northwest of Hyder. It sits in the Canadian headwaters the Unuk, upriver from Alaska’s Misty Fjords National Monument. The KSM project calls for three large open pits, an underground mine and enormous dumps for billions of tons of acid-generating waste rock, called tailings. Acid mine drainage, and its potential to leach heavy metals into Alaska’s waters, worries me. This toxic brew results when sulfide-bearing rock is exposed to air and water during the mining process. Most ore at KSM is known to generate acid, and although the developers say they can build a mine that won’t release any, I have my doubts. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has found that mining has contaminated portions of over 40 percent of the watersheds in the western continental U.S. KSM isn’t the only B.C. mine that threatens our region. Developers are planning three mines upriver from Wrangell in the Stikine River watershed. They’re called Galore Creek, Schaft Creek and Red Chris. All have the potential to pollute the Stikine, Southeast Alaska’s second-largest salmon producing river. Plans are in the works to reopen the Tulsequah Chief mine located in the Taku River watershed near Juneau. The Tulsequah Chief has been releasing acid mine drainage into the Taku since the mine closed in during the 1950s. There is a lack of engagement by Alaska officials on this issue. We need our delegation in Congress to step up to the plate, listen to the growing concern among fishermen and tribal groups in Southeast, and get the U.S. State Department involved. Even though these mines are located in Canada, this is our water, too. Several Southeast tribes including the Tlingit and Haida Central Council, Ketchikan Indian Community, Douglas Island Indian Association, Metlakatla Indian Community, City and Organized Village of Saxman, Organized Village of Kake, and a growing number of others are on record with statements of concern. It’s time for our voices to be heard in Washington, D.C. Rob Sanderson, Jr. is the Second Vice President of the Tlingit and Haida Central Council. |
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