Tongass National Forest

Cumulative Effects on Non-National Forest System Lands

One of the inadequacies identified by the Ninth Circuit Court was the degree to which cumulative effects were addressed relative to the harvest of high-volume old-growth forest on non-National Forest System lands. In many of the effects analyses conducted during the development of the 1997 Forest Plan and associated NEPA analysis, wildlife habitat values were considered to be of zero value on non-National Forest System lands. This was the case in the design of the wildlife/old-growth conservation strategy. To address the issue, as identified by the Court, updated information was requested from larger landowners and generated through interpretation of aerial photography and use of new mapping developed by The Nature Conservancy and Audubon Alaska using satellite imagery. Sealaska Regional Corporation and the State of Alaska provided substantial information to support this effort. This updated information was used in appropriate analyses included in the Final EIS. The Biodiversity, Wildlife, and Fish sections, among others, present quantifications that resulted from this effort. In addition, Appendix B to the Final EIS (Modeling and Analysis) summarizes the methods used and Appendix E to the Final EIS (Catalogue of Past Harvest) summarizes much of the information obtained.

Work Product(s): GIS-related products and/or summarized information on timber harvest, young-growth stands of timber, roads, and old-growth on non-National Forest System lands of Southeast Alaska. Also, extensive quantification and analysis of these data in the Final EIS.