The authors of a new biography of the Tongass National Forest are seeking reviewers and fact-checkers.
Be warned it’s a rather long, complex and arguably contradictory read. It speaks of desires to preserve tribal traditions more than 10,000 years old while encouraging further mining exploration, all while the winds and rains of chaos (and climate change) are swirling around.
The title of tome is the “Tongass Forest Plan Revision draft assessment report,” the author is the U.S. Forest Service and it’s published in 21 sections totaling more than 800 pages. People wanting to offer their feedback have 45 days starting Friday.
“The Forest Service is seeking factual corrections, other sources of data, sub-topics that people or organizations would like added, or any questions that may remain,” a press release announcing the release of the draft states. “Additional feedback will help create the final assessment report.”
The draft assessment is part of a multiyear update of the Tongass Land Management Plan, which was last fully revised in 1997 and amended in 2016. The release of Friday’s assessment is the next step in the process after the Forest Service released a draft inventory of everything in the Tongass National Forest last July and conducted a similar comment period.
The new publication — going beyond a mere inventory — contains “evaluations of existing ecological, economic, and social conditions and trends across the forest,” according to the release. The findings are based on “community workshops, tribal consultations, and feedback periods (that) began last April, coinciding with (existing) agency evaluations.”
But the titles of the 21 sections — such as “The Tongass as an Indigenous Place,” “Timber Resources,” “Species of Conservation Concern,” “Energy and Minerals” and “Drivers, Stressors, and Climate Change” — suggest there’s going to be things to like and dislike for everyone with an interest in the forest’s future.
The assessment notes, for instance, a key change needed in a new management plan is incorporating tribal perspectives since previous versions “did not authentically include the perspectives or deep involvement of Alaska Native Tribes, Alaska Native Corporations, communities, or other Indigenous populations.” Among a half-dozen key specific goals sought by tribal leaders are:
• Tribal/Alaska Native management of sacred sites including historical cultural sites.
• Facilitating Tribal subsistence use and stewardship of natural and cultural resources that contribute to food sovereignty and other cultural resources (e.g., salmon, cedar, deer, etc.)
• Incorporating proactive and adaptive management to address the impacts of climate change on natural and cultural resources that are important to Tribes
• Providing opportunities for Tribes and Alaska Native Corporations to work with the agency to achieve land management outcomes, support Tribal and ANC economic development priorities, and develop the workforce capacity of Tribal citizens and ANC shareholders.
While some of those goals could cause conflicts within different tribal entities, they also are potentially at odds with assertions and desired goals in many of the other sections. The energy section, for instance, has nine main declarations including:
• The extent to which identified and undiscovered mineral resources on the Tongass National Forest will be developed or exploited in the future will depend largely upon the level of market demand for those resources.
• Salable mineral commodities extracted on the Tongass are predominantly crushed rock, limestone, and marble and continued extraction of these building material resources is expected in the future.
• The Forest Service recognizes that minerals are fundamental to the Nation’s well-being and, as policy, encourages the exploration and development of the mineral resources it manages.
• There is increasing interest in additional renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, biomass, tidal, wave energy, and geothermal resources.
Environmental preservation and concerns are the emphasis of many sections, with the final one on climate impacts describing accelerating adverse effects such as glacial melting that has caused catastrophic floods; mortal danger to trees posed by insects and disease; and threats to marine life due to ocean acidification. Among the specific other findings in that section:
• Temperatures on the Forest have historically remained cool and mild but are expected to rise significantly as the century progresses, with as much as a 4.6°F increase in mean annual temperature by the 2080s. Projected changes are most pronounced in the Northeast Gulf, where end-of-century estimates reach 8.4°F warming under high-emissions scenarios, and seasonal increases will be highest during autumn.
• Precipitation, which typically falls year-round with geographic variability and seasonal storms in the fall and winter, is forecasted to increase by up to 13.0% in average yearly amount, with the lowest changes in the Central Panhandle and the greatest in the South Panhandle. Spring, fall, and winter precipitation show projected increases under all scenarios, with a higher proportion of precipitation falling as rain, especially in the South.
• Wind is a major disturbance agent in the region and plays a key role in renewing the forests, with small-scale gap phase disturbances predominating in areas protected from windthrow and catastrophic disturbances more likely in windthrow-prone areas. The impacts of climate change on wind dynamics remain unclear, but will likely include a decrease in average wind speeds while heavy storms and wind/rain events increase in frequency.
The draft assessment comes near the end of the second stage of a four-stage process to revise the Tongass Land Management Plan, with completion of the final stage — implementation — scheduled in 2028. The final assessment released after public comment will be followed by the third stage, which will include the redrafting of the plan, an environmental impact statement and extensive public review.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
