Staney Community Forest

In 2009 and 2010, SEACC, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry, Wilderness Society, The Nature Conservancy, local residents and mill owners, and other stakeholders met to develop a community-based vision for the greater Staney planning area.  A final report was released in August 2010, detailing a vision for restoring fish and wildlife habitat in this area while simultaneously reducing road maintenance costs and providing for local jobs.  We remain engaged in efforts to successfully implement the progressive community vision outlined in this report and look forward to helping restore the productivity of this landscape for the benefit of neighboring communities and fish and wildlife.

More information on the Staney Community Forest Project can be found at http://conserveonline.org/workspaces/staney-creek/.

Background

The Staney Community Forest area consists of 139,000 acres on the west side of Prince of Wales Island, between Naukati on the north and Klawock on the south. The rough terrain is highlighted by patches of trees on the productive well-drained sites and muskeg openings on the less productive, poorly drained sites.

Significant clearcut logging occurred on the southern Tongass between the mid 50s to late 90s. Prince of Wales Island and the greater Staney Creek watershed were the sites of some of the most intense cuts. Several thousand miles of logging roads and logging camps were built, and several thousand acres of old growth trees were clear cut.

Today with the pulp mills gone and the 50-year contracts terminated, logging in this area is greatly reduced. The former camps are now small communities that are struggling to find economic opportunities. The old clearcut areas are now dense, even-aged, small diameter young growth that provide poor fish and wildlife habitat. Much of the road network is no longer needed and cannot be maintained.