| Tongass.org is dedicated to bringing the truth about the tongass to contradict the false propoganda that is being spread so freely through the current media. The Tongass National forest has been established as a multiple use forest providing a sustainable and renewable resource for many to use and enjoy. Why then is it that we see that the entire forest is sought to be controlled by a small number of political groups that have only themselves in mind, and care nothing for the concerns and welfare of the people that actually live there and call it home? The fact is that nearly all the information that is portrayed to the public is at best twisted, and most of this information is totally misrepresented and false. A very good article explaning the true agenda of these groups has been writen which helps give some insight into the agenda behind these so-called environmental groups.
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Reality |
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| Brown bear critical habitat requirements include old growth reserves and connecting corridors. | Northeast Chichagof Island, which has had substantial timber harvest and road construction over the past 20 years, has 1.7 bears/sq. mi.; one of the highest known bear densities ever recorded. There are no reserves or corridors in this area. | |
| Marten have critical habitat requirements including high volume old growth reserves with connecting old growth corridors. | Marten populations are mostly affected by vole populations. Marten have also been found to eat crustaceans, small fish, . . . hence, are a wildlife generalist species that is very adaptive and high on the food chain. Marten do need some cover to avoid being taken by an eagle or the like, but they do not require extensive “high volume old growth reserves and corridors”. | |
| Wolves are potentially threatened on the Tongass. | ADF&G, for all practical purposes, has liberal hunting and trapping regulations. Something around 200 wolves are legally taken annually for their pelts. Wolf populations are mostly controlled by deer populations. Deer populations are generally controlled by how tough the winter is and how much wolf predation has occurred. | |
| Goshawks need very large unfragmented old growth reserves to have reasonable assurance of viable populations. | Goshawks are habitat generalists. They feed primarily on stellar jays, crows, flying squirrels, etc.; i.e. species that are "edge species" hence the more fragmentation, the better. Further, goshawks are very high on the food chain and very territorial; they have few predators other than eagles and other goshawks. Telemetered goshawks in and around Douglas/West Juneau indicate 750-acre home ranges (i.e. quite small) in areas that are primarily second growth, i.e. plentiful with prey species. | |
| Deer migrate every year from the alpine meadows to low-elevation, high-volume timber stands for shelter from the winter weather. | Deer have a relatively small home range, often no more than a mile in diameter. Few deer are considered migratory, moving from low elevation habitats in the winter to the alpine in the summer and back again. Many deer choose to over-winter in the sub alpine timber, particularly on south and west facing slopes. These deer often feed in the fringe timber along the upper edge of clearcuts and on steep ground where the sunlight reaches past the tree crowns and stimulates abundant browse on the forest floor. | |
| High volume, old growth timber stands below 800 feet elevation must be preserved in order to sustain deer populations during harsh winters. | Deer use the available habitat, including both high and low elevation, timber stands, pole size second growth timber stands, deep, protected draws and any other landforms that provide shelter from the snow and cold. | |
| Old growth forest characteristics, particularly on low elevation south-facing slopes, are critical for maintaining the viability of most wildlife species on the Tongass. | South-facing slopes are most susceptible to wind damage and many of these timber stands never reach the so-called “old-growth” development stage before they are blown down again. | |
| Clearcutting patches of timber every hundred years or so destroys important old growth wildlife habitat and, since it takes 200 or more years to restore the habitat, the clearcut areas will never again support wildlife. (This is the underlying logic for the Tongass interagency deer habitat model.) | For 30 to 40 years following logging, the logged areas have an increased abundance of vegetation that supports increased populations of deer, bears, small mammals and song birds. Intensively managed second growth stands also have timber volumes and under story vegetation that meets or exceeds pre-harvest levels within 50 to 70 years. Most of the timber stands that are logged are less than 200 years old in the first place. | |
| The 1978 TLMP plan to clearcut a third of the Tongass old growth over a 100-year period threatened biodiversity and the viability of many species. | Only 10% to 30% of a typical regional ecosystem is necessary for insuring viability and diversity. The original TLMP plan maintained about two thirds of the commercial timber stands in perpetuity. The current TLMP maintains even more of the commercial timberlands. In addition, clearcut areas add their own diversity; insects, birds and small mammals are more abundant in clearcut areas and there is a superabundance of browse for deer and bears. | |
| Increased stream temperatures that result from logging are harmful to salmon. | Most streams in Southeast Alaska have stream temperatures that are below the optimum range for salmon. These streams can benefit from slight temperature increases. | |
| Logging and related road building cause increased sedimentation that suffocates salmon eggs. | Many streams in Southeast Alaska are so pure that they are nutrient poor. Salmon in these streams can actually benefit from slight increases in sedimentation. | |
| Improper culvert installation has blocked hundreds of salmon streams in Southeast Alaska. | Most culverts have been installed correctly for the standard that was in use at the time of construction. That prior standard was crafted to provide passage of adult salmon. Some of the culverts that were installed in the past block passage for salmon fry part of the year. These culverts are being replaced on a priority basis and a newer, more rigorous fish passage standard has been adopted. | |
| To find more
facts on the Tongass, go to akforest. Comments and suggestions can
be sent to: webmaster@tongass.org |
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