Tongass Land Management Plan (TLMP)
Management of the Tongass National Forest is based on land management plans adopted every 10 years, or sooner if warranted. The current plan was adopted in January 2008, though many have discussed updating this plan to incorporate new developments on the forest, including the Tongass Transition Framework and the increased importance of renewable energy development. To implement the 2008 Tongass Land Management Plan, the Forest Service took an unusual approach by deciding to implement its selected alternative, a modified version of alternative 6, in phases. Below is a brief overview of the plan.
The Details
The Forest Service divided the land available for logging under the plan into portions that may be offered in three separate phases, based on how much timber is actually logged:
Phase One: Logging occurs mostly along the road system, but logging is possible in some high value community use areas, like Eleven Mile near Craig, Burnett Inlet near Wrangell, and North Kuiu Island near Kake.
Phase Two: Planning for sales within this portion of the timber base can’t start until the timber industry cuts more than 100 million board feet (MMBF) for two years in a row – something that hasn’t happened in this century. This phase threatens many more important places, like Neka River near Hoonah, Saltery Bay in Tenakee Inlet, Saook Bay in Peril Straits, the Back Channel near Wrangell, Davidson Inlet on Kosciusko Island, Emerald Bay on the Cleveland Peninsula, Saltery Cove and Clover Bay on southeast Prince of Wales.
Phase Three: Planning for sales within this portion of the timber base can’t start until the industry logs over 150 MMBF for two years in a row. This phase threatens places we have fought to protect for decades, like Seal Bay in Tenakee Inlet, Ushk Bay and Poison Cove near Sitka, Port Houghton and Sanborn Canal near Petersburg, No Name Bay and Seclusion Harbor on East Kuiu Island, Union and Spacious Bays and Vixen Inlet on the Cleveland Peninsula near Ketchikan.
The Upside
The plan postpones logging in many of the areas we have fought to protect until the demand for Tongass timber increases substantially. The Forest Service has taken the first step in recognizing the significant value of these areas for fish and wildlife habitat, recreation, tourism, and a myriad of other uses that aren’t necessarily compatible with logging. Two areas, Goose Flats and Long Bay in upper Tenakee Inlet and the head of Bostwick Inlet on Gravina Island, were moved out of the timber base altogether.
The Downside
The Forest Service continues to give timber a first priority. There are important areas slated for logging and roadbuilding in Phase One and, if fully implemented, this new plan is nearly the same as the 1997 Forest Plan, with areas like Port Houghton, East Kuiu, and the Cleveland Peninsula open to logging and development.
Check out the forest plan, Record of Decision, and maps at http://tongass-fpadjust.net/FPA_ROD.htm.
Background
In August of 2005, the 9th Circuit Court ordered the Forest Service to do the 1997 land management plan over after SEACC and others challenged it. The court ruled that the agency erroneously doubled its experts’ projections of market demand for Tongass timber.
This error exaggerated projected logging levels and resulted in much more land being designated for logging than the agency’s own economists found was necessary to supply local mills.
Many important community use areas were slated for logging under the 1997 plan. These lands include the Cleveland Peninsula and Gravina Island near Ketchikan, Port Houghton and Cape Fanshaw near Petersburg, East Kuiu and Security Arm near Kake, Long and Seal Bays in Tenakee Inlet, and Ushk Bay, Poison Cove and Deep Bay near Sitka.
