Press release:
JUNEAU–Building on his commitment to revitalize Alaska’s timber industry, Governor Sean Parnell today signed legislation nearly doubling the size of the Southeast State Forest. The forest was created by the passage of Governor Parnell’s legislation in 2010. Lands added to the state forest will continue to be open for multiple uses, including wildlife habitat and harvest, mining and recreational activities. Read more->
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by Erika Bolstad | ADN Associated Press
 Gov. Sean Parnell Press Release REUTERS In the short term, there will likely be a need for imported paper products from North America and other regions to Japan, while in the mid- to long-term, rebuilding efforts in Japan will benefit western Canadian wood products companies, TD analysts said. Read more in the Toronto Sun.  Southeast State Forest Management plans will include treatment of second growth stands to enhance yield HAINES–Last June Governor Sean Parnell signed legislation that created Alaska’s third state forest. The legislation encompassed 25,000 acres of existing state-owned lands in Southeast set aside for long term management by the Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry. Named the Southeast State Forest, it joins Tanana Valley and the Haines State Forest as areas to be managed for timber production and other multiple uses. Now working its way through the legislature is Senate Bill 44 and House Bill 105 that would add an additional acreage to the newly created Southeast State Forest. Read more->  Log transfer facility at Corner Bay, Chichagof Island Question: When it comes to balancing the desires of interest groups wanting their say in management of the Tongass National Forest, how much say is enough? For environmental groups, the answer is always – just a little more! For those of us who reside in Haines, we are in a unique geographic situation with regards to federal forestry. In all of Southeast Alaska there are only two organized communities, Haines and Klukwan, that fall outside the boundaries of the nation’s largest national forest. At 17 million acres, an area roughly the size of West Virginia, the Tongass encompasses virtually all of the Southeast Panhandle. Read more-> The Board of Forestry will meet on Thursday and Friday, March 31 and April 1, 2011 beginning at 8:00 a.m. each day in the main Dept. of Environmental Conservation conference room, 410 Willoughby Avenue, Juneau, AK. Read more-> by Owen Graham | JUNEAU EMPIRE Letters Read Alaska Forest Association Exec. Director Owen Graham’s full letter in the Juneau Empire. Press release “The decision further damages the economy in Southeast,” Murkowski said. “The roadless rule was never intended to apply to the Tongass because ANILCA already set logging limits for the forest, as did the Tongass Timber Reform Act. This will make it all the more difficult for the few remaining timber operations that depend on the Tongass and the Forest Service to survive. I intend to do every thing I can to limit this damage.” ### Associated Press U.S. District Judge John W. Sedwick on Friday reinstated the roadless rule in the Tongass, finding the exemption was arbitrary and capricious, but didn’t vacate three timber sales authorized under the exemption. He says that decision is left to the Agriculture secretary. Read more in the ADN. By Jonathan Grass | JUNEAU EMPIRE A release states the payment will go to a local land trust to purchase and protect area wetlands. As part of the settlement, Walker also agreed to develop a plan to restore drainage and prevent erosion on his property.  Students from the Tok School holding up wood chips that are used to fire the boiler. by Jeffrey Hermanns, Forester Alaska winter months are cold, but the children going to school in Tok are warmed by the very trees that have been removed to protect them, and wiser about the immense northern boreal forest surrounding the community. On October 29, 2010, the woodchip-fired boiler at the Tok School was lit for the first time. Read more-> Part II in a series about wood heat in Haines  Smoke from burning brush piles and a cruise ship visible over Haines on a late August rainy day. Connelly Lake hydropower could eliminate the need for cruise ships to power up and biomass heat could eliminate the brush pile burning. The long term outlook for renewable energy in the Haines Borough is bright indeed! There are projects for the future that could make Haines the envy of the country when the goal is to reduce dependence on fossil fuel. But many of these projects are in the distant future and it is the immediate interim period where woody biomass can play an active role. Read more-> |
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