Tongass National Forest policy in Alaska (environment, travel, work)

[Alaskagrl]

Any thoughts? Here's the latest Forest Plan. It basically says we'll try to make some more FS acres available for harvest while still upholding NEPA standards for protection of wildlife, fish, and recreation resources.

Tongass National Forest

[Barkingowl]

Alaskagrl how does the forest service determine what is to be cut & what is to be left undisturbed?

[Alaskagrl]

Right now almost no area of old growth can be cut. There are protections, or Land Use Designation areas, that by NEPA (national environmental policy act) CANNOT be harvested any more, as well as federally designated wilderness areas (of which the Tongass has several) where no harvest is allowed. .
Basically, what can be cut is viable 2nd growth, areas that are surrounded by realatively undisturbed areas, and more. I have more info but I'll be right back.

[Alaskagrl]

For anyone who's ever been curious what it takes to put a timber sale together in the US:

Due to NEPA, an extensive EIS (environmental impact statement) must be done, put through National scrutiny, and approved before surveyors even go on the land, not to mention chainsaws. To put this together, resource by resource, takes at least a year, usually more, depending on size of sale. It includes a detailed analysis of impacts of roads and roadbuilding, lays out timber harvest methods most appropriate to the land/soils, and lays out buffer zones near riparian (wetland) or stream areas.

The EIS is distributed to the public, and public/village meetings are held to address concerns stemming from the potential sale. Usually this means the FS will alter the sale in some way.

Then, the appeals process happens. Some enviro-group (usually Greenpiece) appeals, inevitably, and the FS has to prove that their scientists aren't raving lunatics and have showed why the sale isn't going to rape the environment or even significantly alter it after 5 years or so. Usually some type of compromise is involved here.

Then, surveyors go out, lay out the sale, and then if everything else is smooth (usually not), chainsaws will actually touch a tree 3 years OR MORE after the first proposal has gone out to the public. There's one sale here that has been in the works for more than 10 years. It has cost the Federal govnerment over $6 million dollars to produce the documents, address appellants concerns, re-write the document, and re-do the sale layout. The estimated net profit from the sale? Oh, we're in the red...all the time. We probably will only produce enough wood to feed our one remaining local mill for a year or so.

Do you begin to see why some in communities, we are FURIOUS with what we see as the prohibitive factor to cutting trees that we KNOW are renewable? (i.e. environmentalist groups and lobbies).

[Barkingowl]

When I was looking at the maps I noticed that the way that the use designations are laid out is a 100 year projection. Why do they feel that 100 years is appropriate instead of a shorter term projection?

[Alaskagrl]

Well, they couldn't get away with a shorter term projection under NEPA standards; NEPA isn't-state-specific and requires ALL timber sales to use a 100-yr projection.

However, as you're no doubt aware, for SE Alaska this is pretty ridiculous, as our forests grow much faster than hardwood or even pine forests elsewhere, due to our rainfall/milder temperatures.

We get 2nd growth that is harvestable in half that--ore even 30/40 years, with our new small-diameter harvest technology and the fact that we can now make use of much smaller wood.

[Barkingowl]

Originally Posted by Alaskagrl

Well, they couldn't get away with a shorter term projection under NEPA standards; NEPA isn't-state-specific and requires ALL timber sales to use a 100-yr projection.

However, as you're no doubt aware, for SE Alaska this is pretty ridiculous, as our forests grow much faster than hardwood or even pine forests elsewhere, due to our rainfall/milder temperatures.

We get 2nd growth that is harvestable in half that--ore even 30/40 years, with our new small-diameter harvest technology and the fact that we can now make use of much smaller wood.

That's pretty interesting. How does the government set a value for the timber? When bids are placed is the sale determined by the highest bidder or are there other factors that are considered?

[Alaskagrl]

The value of timber is set by estimated BF (board feet) that timber cruisers estimate when they go into an area. They calculate gross board feet by using height/diameter of individual trees and cruising small areas --they measure many, many plots until the basic make-up of the stand to be cut is pretty well represented. Then, they use factors like species, disease, defect, or damage (windthrow) to further calculate quality of wood.

Bidding; usually just the highest bidder is considered. However, if a bidder has failed on a previous contract (like they were supposed to plant grass on a site and didn't, etc), or broken NEPA rules like cutting into buffer zones or leaving too much slash, then they probably don't be considered on a new bid.

Like I said, the value of timber now is so low, and the cost of producing the EIS document is so high, that if we were a private business, there's no way we could cut anything (hence the fact that a lot of private logging companies are going out of business).

[Barkingowl]

Originally Posted by Alaskagrl

Like I said, the value of timber now is so low, and the cost of producing the EIS document is so high, that if we were a private business, there's no way we could cut anything (hence the fact that a lot of private logging companies are going out of business).

So who is cutting the timber? Also when a forest is surveyed as to its potential for catching on fire, or for damage from bugs or disease, does the FS go through the same process for determining where permitted individuals can go to cut firewood?

[Alaskagrl]

"I'm new to all of this. How wide of a buffer zone is needed to protect streams? When you refer to slash I'm assuming that it is everything that can't be made into something deemed "useful." Are the buffers actual retaining walls that prevent the slash from washing into the streams or are they areas where the forest is left intact?"

To BarkingOWL: Slash is the tops/branches of trees that are stripped off to leave the log. Right now there isn't a commercial use for them. Sometimes it's good to leave a little slash to enrich the soil. Too much slash suffocates new growth and poses a fire danger. However, it's kind of expensive to deal with, so some logging companies try to "fudge" a litte and get away with not dealing with it sometimes.

A buffer zone varies. Usually a buffer zone refers to places where the fores is left entirely intact or only cut in a "thinning" type cut...leaves most of trees. There are different classes of streams: rich fish-bearing streams (Class 1 and 2) or small creeks that don't hold much water/life (Classes 3 and 4). The buffer zones can be as much as 200' or, in some cases, right to the banks if it's a real trickle.

Culverts and "water-bars" are installed along logging roads to allow water to travel as per normal with minimal increase in velocity; water bars are mounds of dirt and trenches that slow water down to minimize erosion. Steeper the slope, more of these you have to put in your sale area.