Tongass National Forest

Tongass National Forest
Name	Tongass National Forest
Location	Southeast Alaska, United States
Area	17,000,000 acres (approx.)
Established	1907
Governing body	United States Forest Service
Nearest city	Juneau, Ketchikan

Tongass National Forest The Tongass National Forest is the largest national forest in the United States, occupying much of Southeast Alaska and encompassing vast temperate rainforests, fjords, islands, and glaciers. It spans a landscape shaped by Juneau Icefield, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alexander Archipelago, and the panhandle communities of Juneau and Ketchikan, and is central to the cultural and subsistence life of Indigenous nations such as the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian. The forest's management, history, and use involve prominent institutions like the United States Forest Service, National Park Service, and multiple federal laws and policies including the Tongass Timber Reform Act and debates involving the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.

Geography and extent

The forest covers roughly 17 million acres across the Alexander Archipelago and the coastal mainland of Southeast Alaska, bounded by features such as the Gulf of Alaska, Inside Passage, and the Coast Mountains. Major island groups within the forest include Prince of Wales Island, Chichagof Island, Admiralty Island and Baranof Island, while significant waterways include the Taku River, Stikine River, and the channels of Frederick Sound and Wrangell Narrows. Topography ranges from sea-level fjords and coastal estuaries to alpine summits linked to the Saint Elias Mountains and the Yakutat Glacier region; climate is strongly influenced by the Pacific Ocean and prevailing maritime systems such as the Alaska Current.

Ecology and biodiversity

The Tongass contains one of the largest remaining tracts of temperate rainforest in the world, dominated by late-successional stands of Sitka spruce and Western hemlock, with understory and wetland communities that support species like the brown bear, black bear, black and the endemic Alexander Archipelago wolf. Its marine and freshwater systems sustain keystone species including Pacific salmon species—Chinook salmon, Coho salmon, Sockeye salmon, Chum salmon, and Pink salmon—which connect terrestrial, avian, and marine food webs involving bald eagle, harbor seal, sea otter, and orca. Old-growth structures foster epiphyte and lichen diversity similar to that found in the Great Bear Rainforest and support rare plant populations and invertebrate assemblages comparable to other North Pacific islands like Vancouver Island. The forest’s ecological processes are shaped by disturbance regimes such as glacial retreat linked to climate change, windthrow events influenced by Aleutian Low storms, and salmon-driven nutrient subsidies recognized in studies associated with institutions like the Smithsonian Institution and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

History and human use

Indigenous occupancy by Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian peoples predates European contact and shaped landscape use through practices such as selective harvesting, totem artistry, and seasonal fishing tied to sites like Sitka and Ketchikan. European and American involvement accelerated after Russian colonization centered on Sitka National Historical Park and later United States purchase of Alaska, leading to industries such as maritime fur trade, commercial fishing linked to companies like Peter Pan Seafoods and Trident Seafoods, and 20th-century logging driven by the demands of World War II infrastructure and postwar construction across the United States. Conservation milestones include the establishment of Glacier Bay National Monument and federal actions such as the Tongass Timber Reform Act and administrative decisions by the United States Forest Service that reshaped public use, rights, and timber sale program history.

Management and conservation

Federal management is conducted primarily by the United States Forest Service within a legal framework involving the National Forest Management Act, the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, and the Endangered Species Act. Conservation organizations including Sierra Club, The Nature Conservancy, Audubon Society, and regional groups such as the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council have advocated protections leading to roadless area designations, wilderness expansions, and habitat conservation plans that affect species and salmon habitat. Controversies over old-growth logging, the conversion of roadless areas, and the balance among logging, mining, and subsistence rights have reached federal courts and involved actors such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and state administrations of Alaska. Recent policy shifts have involved the Biden administration and earlier executive actions, with partnerships emerging among tribal governments—including the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska—and federal agencies to steward salmon habitat, cultural sites, and carbon sequestration values recognized by international efforts like the Paris Agreement.

Recreation and tourism

Recreational uses include wilderness activities within areas such as Kruzof Island and the Admiralty Island National Monument, boating along the Inside Passage popular with Alaska Marine Highway travelers and cruise lines like Holland America Line and Princess Cruises, sportfishing for Chinook salmon and halibut, wildlife viewing for brown bear populations on Admiralty Island and seabird colonies at Seward Peninsula-linked sites, and glacier viewing at destinations such as Mendenhall Glacier and Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. Infrastructure supporting tourism involves gateway communities Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka, the Alaska Railroad, and operators including regional outfitters and lodges that coordinate with agencies like the National Park Service and local visitor bureaus.

Economy and resource extraction

Economic activities historically centered on logging, commercial fishing, and mining, with companies such as Ketchikan Pulp Company and timber purchasers driving sawmill operations in communities like Ketchikan and Prince of Wales Island. Fisheries remain a dominant economic sector tied to processors like Trident Seafoods and regulatory frameworks administered by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council and Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Mineral prospects and small-scale mining have involved entities across Southeast Alaska, while contemporary debates address transitions to sustainable economies including eco-tourism, carbon markets, and renewable energy projects that engage stakeholders such as tribal corporations under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and regional development organizations like the Southeast Conference.

Category:National forests of Alaska