"Tongass Advisory Committee"

Streams and watersheds in the Petersburg area are among those placed off-limits to old growth logging in an amendment to the Tongass Land and Resource Management Plan released in December.

Alaska U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski spoke to a group of constituents over pizza and beer at Baranof Island Brewing Co.

“People stayed at the table and worked through, compromised, and really did a commendable job of handling a very difficult topic,” says Les Cronk, a committee co-chair and a timber industry representative.

Forest Supervisor Earl Stewart said the agency’s analysis shows that transition is possible in 16 years.

After a morning spent wordsmithing and getting some new language ready to insert into the document, Tongass Advisory Committee members agreed they had reached their goal.

The committee is expected to give recommendations on moving forward with a plan to transition to second-growth timber harvests.

A new forecast says current plans for logging younger Tongass trees will not provide enough wood to maintain the region’s timber industry. But a more aggressive approach might.

A citizens’ panel continues wrestling with the future of Southeast Alaska’s national forest. The 15-member Tongass Advisory Committee resumes meeting Tuesday in Juneau.

The man at the top of the Tongass is leaving soon. Forrest Cole will retire this spring after four decades with the U.S. Forest Service.

Sealaska says it will begin logging its new lands later this year. The first two parcels to be cut will be on Prince of Wales Island and the Cleveland Peninsula.