U.S. Forest Service personnel have been visiting Southeast Alaska communities to understand how residents want the Tongass National Forest used. The federal agency is doing a comprehensive revision of the Tongass National Forest plan, which will guide long-term management. They’re focusing on tribal, subsistence, recreation, tourism and timber aspects.

Tongass National Forest Deputy Supervisor Barb Miranda visited Wrangell April 21 and gave a brief presentation to community members.

“Down in the Lower 48, the towns and wild places are surrounded by civilization,” she said. “Here it’s the opposite — we have our communities surrounded by this wild place that provides so much for our food, for our subsistence and for our economies.”

Miranda said the plan aims to balance ecological preservation and community needs. Towards the back of the room were activities where people could write down their thoughts and take a survey.

Community members highlighted the importance of balancing commercial activities like logging and recreation with subsistence needs.

Albert Rinehart, tribal administrator for the Wrangell Cooperative Association, just finished an activity that had him identify the greatest subsistence harvest in a certain area of the Tongass.

“Subsistence is important to a lot of our smaller communities, rural communities,” he said. “If we’re gonna be doing any planning, it should be to help those habitats prosper and have our subsistence game be available.”

The current comprehensive plan for the Tongass was revised in 1997 and was last amended in 2016. The deadline for Southeast communities to comment is May 6.

The U.S. Forest Service plans to release a draft of the environmental impact statement in November with a 90-day comment period following.

Additionally, they plan to release the final draft of the statement in the summer of 2027 with a 60-day objection period. They aim to have the final plan in January of 2028.

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The Center of Science and Industry, from Columbus, OH, team members are visiting Wrangell during this week’s jam-packed Bear Fest. It is a nationally recognized science center that focuses on educating the public on everything science. 

At Bear Fest, the COSI team will be handing out science kits while they assist with various events, including their Wednesday evening presentation on why they want to invest in Wrangell youth. 

The team was first identified by local District Ranger Claire Froelich with the Tongass National Forest. Froelich connected with COSI last year while planning for the Capitol Christmas Tree tour, when a local spruce tree journeyed to Washington D.C. She received one of their educational COSI Connects Kits, and was impressed.

“I was obsessed with it. It is super cool,” she said. “(I) still have it in my office and I started talking to them about all the cool things that we do here in Alaska, specifically in Wrangell.”

That led to further collaboration with COSI. They promote STEAM careers, which stands for science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.

Forest kit in the Tongass

The forest kit teaches about different types of trees, seed dispersal, tree age and health, waterways and watersheds. 

“I think a lot of those are slightly magnified here, as it’s an island in Southeast Alaska,” Froelich said. “So a lot of things happen here quick and big and so it’s a fun way of interacting.” 

Erica Olivares-Vincent, who’s with COSI, said they created the educational kits during the height of the pandemic for easier access to science. Since then, they continued to be popular and the science center shifted their focus to reach more kids.

“We focus a lot on both rural and inner city engagement, and have been primarily focusing on rural engagement over the last couple of years,” she said.

They previously worked with the University of Alaska on a snow and permafrost kit, and over the past year have been in communication with the U.S. Forest Service Wrangell Ranger District. 

“Our hope is…we’ll be working with kids here like a pen pal program”

Olivares-Vincent said the team wants to return to Alaska through Bear Fest to invest in this community and continue partnering with the University of Alaska.

“Our hope is that over the next couple of years, whether we’re physically here in Wrangell or we’re doing some other type of engagement back in Ohio, we’ll be working with kids here like a pen pal program; we’ll still be doing some work up here with the Wrangell community,” she said.

Other COSI kits cover topics such as American innovation and electricity. Froehlich said COSI sent 2,000 pounds of kits to Wrangell, each kit weighing less than two pounds. But Wrangell isn’t keeping all of them. 

“(We received) two pallets that were over 10 feet tall,” she said. “Last week we went through the pallets, undid them all, and then recounted, repackaged them, and sent education kits to Ketchikan, Juneau and Anchorage.”

These kits, that are the size of a shoe box, are designed for students from third grade to high school. 

They contain all materials needed for the activities, like magnifying glasses and safety glasses and students can keep everything in the kit.

Froelich said there’s enough kits for every child on the island, and possibly more for the school year.

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With the combination of last weekend’s snow and wind followed immediately by warming temperatures, two trees fell down on the Zarembo Island causeway. The wooden walkway runs onshore out to the dock. Zarembo Island is uninhabited and located near Wrangell and Petersburg. Hunters and recreationists use it often. 

Austin O’Brien, Wrangell’s Timber Staff Officer with the U.S. Forest Service, said the incident took out at least 20 feet of the causeway, leaving it completely destroyed and unsafe. 

“There’s no way around it or across it at this point,” he said. “We’re actually in the process of issuing a closure order there, and then we’ll be marking it off on both ends, just so people don’t accidentally go across it or something.”

A winter storm two years ago damaged the Zarembo Island dock and disconnected it from the gangplank, or moveable bridge. 

“Unfortunately, we had a bunch of work completed on both the dock and that causeway last summer,” O’Brien said. “That was part of a contract that we had done. I guess the good thing is that it happened after deer season, but unfortunately, it’s going to be out of commission.”

The U.S. Forest Service hired a contractor who completed repairing the dock in July of this year. In addition, they installed a new aluminum ramp and new decking and handrails on the 100-feet long causeway. 

The entire area will be closed off

O’Brien said the walkway between the dock and the shore has the most damage. The dock itself wasn’t affected but the closure order will cover everything. 

A nearby drive-down ramp is also  currently blocked by the trees that fell down. O’Brien said the Forest Service will hopefully get out to the site today to assess the feasibility of clearing the trees.

“We’re going to have to get an engineering evaluation,” he said. “After a tree strike like that, we really need to take a look at the whole structure. We just don’t know the extent of the damage.” 

As of now, he doesn’t know when the causeway, dock, or ramp will be usable.

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A tree from Southeast Alaska’s Tongass National Forest has been chosen for this year’s Capitol Christmas Tree near the White House.

Last month the U.S. Forest Service and D.C. officials met in Wrangell to decide which one will become “The People’s Tree” to grace the grounds of the Capitol lawn.

Not only will the tree represent Alaska, but it also will symbolize the Tongass’s people, history and culture.

Jim Kaufman, with the Architect of the Capitol, was one of the officials who looked for the perfect tree from Wrangell and surrounding islands. The legislative branch oversees the grounds and landmark buildings of Capitol Hill in Washington D.C.

He said learning about the temperate rainforest and the people in Southeast Alaska helps him decide on the tree. So he first met some locals.

“Understanding what really makes the local people of the Tongass and the history,” Kaufman said. “It’s a piece of the people that it comes from, the local people that then get taken to the United States Capitol where people from around the world will learn about these regions that many people won’t be able to ever see.”

Kaufman said it’s a very tedious process picking out the “The People’s Tree” to represent our nation. But one thing is clear – it can’t be small.

“When I picture Alaska and what the general person thinks of Alaska is big,” he said. “That’s what these trees are, are big. Big sweeping branches, a full tree.”

The Tongass is expansive– nearly 17 million acres – and remote, with limited roads on the region’s islands. The Forest Service has kept tabs on certain “supreme” tree candidates to help Kaufman’s task be more manageable. 

“I’m able to look at the candidate trees and really start to see,” he said. “Is it the right height? So is it somewhere between 50 and 75 feet high? That’s one of the things I start to look at and then how wide. We really want something in that 25 maybe 30 foot range.”

He said that the tree has to look good from every angle, 360 degrees around. On top of that, they also had to think about logistics, like how the tree will be transported and how it will fit onto the tractor trailer. 

They’re looking for a Sitka Spruce because it’s the predominant species of the Tongass. But even each spruce tree is unique. And some characteristics make it more hardy.

“How thick are the branches? So are they three inches thick? How easy and how flexible are they going to be to be transported? But then we still want some stiffness to those branches so that all the handmade ornaments that all the people of Tongass are making can really be secured firmly and hold up,” Kaufman said. 

He said all of these factors make his job difficult.

“That’s the fun challenge,” Kaufman said. “It was a little stressful. I know we can’t go wrong because we have such a strong quality pool here of candidates.” 

Tom Roland, a silviculturist in the Chugach National Forest, has been assisting Kaufman. He serves as the tree team lead for the Capitol Christmas Tree. Basically, he manages everything from the selection of candidates to harvest and transportation. He said they had five to six days of touring the selected candidates. 

Roland said that the process of selecting trees started about a year ago. 

They looked in the Chugach and Tongass, but ended up focusing specifically in the Wrangell district of the Tongass. “The People’s Tree” in 2015 was from the Chugach.

He said that they mainly relied on personnel on the ground to select a tree, but they did use a variety of other technologies. 

“We did obtain drone footage of a few of our candidates,” Roland said. “T3 was involved in that effort.” 

T3 is an organization for high schoolers that focus on STEM projects, like this one. 

The Forest Service and its partners modeled individual characteristics with aerial based LIDAR for over 13.5 million trees. The ground based LIDAR allowed them to decide which trees were top candidates.

Roland said selecting a tree from the Tongass was a very unique process.

“This is the first Capitol Christmas Tree effort that involves boats and barges,” he said. “So that’s been a real experience.” 

The U.S. Capitol has had a Christmas Tree from a National Forest on its lawn since 1970.  “The People’s Tree” rotates between the nation’s nine U.S. Forest Service regions. So it was region 10’s turn here in Alaska. Interestingly, there is no Region 7 because they consolidated it into other regions several years ago.

He said that Kaufman has to select two trees, one being the primary and then a second one in case something happens to the first, like bad weather.

They’ll join the tree for an approximately 20-day whistle stop tour, visiting communities across the Lower 48. They’ll also make sure the tree is healthy enough to make the trip, especially on the barge down to Washington state.

“We’re really having to be innovative in that process as well, trying to keep a tree green and in good shape for that long prior to getting to the Capitol,” Roland said. “Once it’s to the Capitol, it’s on display for close to a month as well. So that’s a long time to keep a tree green and in good shape.”

Even cutting down the tree is complex.

“It’s a very big process,” Roland said. “We want to make sure that the tree isn’t damaged. And so even the act of getting the tree off the landscape is very complex. It usually involves a crane or to some excavators a very large truck and it can take upwards of a day to get the tree from the stump and onto the truck.”

Brandon Raile, who’s also with the Chugach National Forest and taking a lead on the project, said they’ve been in planning mode for the past year with finding candidates and figuring out logistics. But the process is picking up speed now.

“Once the Architect of the Capitol’s office is out here and makes the tree selection, then it’s like, we’re in that roller coaster that’s just crested the top and it’s getting ready to go down faster and faster,” he said. “So this is a really exciting time for us. It’s been a lot of fun.” 

Raile said that showing the Tongass to the D.C. folks has been enjoyable time to him.

“Being an Alaskan, I love seeing the looks on people’s faces that aren’t from Alaska when they come to Alaska for the first time,” he said. “So it was very, very cool to see that amazement, that wonder, you know, on our guests faces.”

Raile said that whatever tree that Kaufman picks is going to be amazing. He agreed that each tree has different characteristics.

“Just like people, they each have their own unique little characteristics that make them special,” he said.

He said everyone on his team with the National Forest Service was sizing up each tree they saw. He said because of this experience he’ll probably be super picky about Christmas trees for the rest of his life. 

“Apparently I’m not a very good judge of tree height,” Raile said. “So all the ones that I sent in very enthusiastically, like, ‘Hey, what about this candidate?’ They came back and said, ‘No, that’s too small.’” 

Kaufman eventually did pick the 2024 “People’s Tree,” though the exact location is top secret. What we do know is that it currently resides on Wrangell Island. 

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The U.S. Forest Service in Wrangell is hoping to redesign the Anan Bear Observatory trail and deck. Officials say the $2 million project would provide a safer trail and better viewing experience.

Recreation staff at Anan say the current viewing deck has a life span of less than five years.

To maintain a safe and pleasurable viewing experience, the local ranger district has written up new designs for the deck.

Tori Hauser is the recreation manager for the Wrangell and Petersburg ranger districts.

“We’ve designed it so that there’s 40 spots, with a 3 foot area around you, for prime viewing all along the river. And then we have a nice covered area in case it’s really rainy so you can be inside but still be able to view out and have those long distance views both up and down the river,” she says.

The current shelter would be moved back to not block the view of the river. A spiral staircase could be installed to take up less room for the lower deck. The design also helps out the bears by providing more unobstructed paths for them and raising the deck they move under.

The Forest Service involved local guides in the design process.

The Forest Service also wants to upgrade the wooden trail to a gravel trail. It could double the lifespan of a wooden trail. And it’s safer.

“It’s much better footing for you, in case you’re trying to move aside or your concentrating on an animal and you step off. The four inches of difference could twist an ankle or be dangerous,” she says.

The local district has not secured funding yet for the project. The updated trail and deck could cost $2 million.

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Corree Delabrue has been organizing the Stikine Birding Festival in Wrangell since 2011.

Talk on the Rock is KSTK’s live call-in show. Every Tuesday at 1pm we welcome a local guest to discuss events and topics of interest to our little island town. For today’s episode, host June Leffler spoke with Corree Delabrue about the upcoming Stikine Birding Festival. Delabrue says the fest celebrates the beauty, science and search of birding in Stikine delta, which attracts migratory birds each spring from as far south as Peru! The fest will feature plenty of awesome events, check out the full schedule.

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The Wrangell Island timber sale has changed drastically over the almost-decade-long planning period. The original harvest was about 90 million board feet, which is the measurement for wood used by the timber industry. The Forest Service scaled it back to a fifteenth of that.

The agency decided on the figure after considering final objections.

The environmental law firm Earthjustice objected on behalf of conservation groups including Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, known as SEACC.  Its attorney Buck Lindekugel said the smaller sale is more accessible to small regional mills.

“This proposed resolution reflects reality on the ground. They’ve already cut the biggest and most economical timber on Wrangell Island,” Lindekugel said. “Offering up a large volume of timber for one sale right now only benefits the people that are exporting this wood out of the region, and that isn’t good for Southeast Alaska.”

The Forest Service said the sale could total 56 million board feet over 10 years. But, only 5 to 7 million board feet is deemed economically viable at this point.

Selling the rest would require building roads and moving logs by helicopter. That creates a deficit, meaning the Forest Service would lose money to sell the timber at current low market rates.

The agency estimates it would cost them $60 per thousand board feet. If processed domestically, that could be almost four times as much.

An agency spokesperson answered questions in email, but did not provide an interview.

The City of Wrangell said the sale does not provide enough timber to sustain a local logging industry. Carol Rushmore is the city’s  economic development director.

“When this sale first started out there was interest by a couple different individuals for creating a manufacturing company, located probably at the old mill site,” Rushmore said. “That could create anywhere from 20 to 30 jobs. That has since gone because there is no guarantee of timber supply.”

The city hopes the rest of the 56 million board feet will incrementally be put up for sale. The Forest Service would need to conduct further economic assessments or hold out for better market rates to put it to bid.

In its objection, the city said it also wants to see a Tongass wood brand and a “buy local” campaign. The city also wants the plan to address how to attract timber manufacturers to Wrangell and enhance youth work skills. The Forest Service said those goals are outside the scope of its current analysis.

The industry trade group Alaska Forest Association objected on the same grounds as the city. Executive Director Owen Graham said 15 million board feet from the sale and a matching amount from another timber sale program are necessary for a local industry.

“That would give them 30 million board feet, which is about the volume it takes to operate a mid-sized sawmill like Wrangell had before their last saw mill closed,” Graham said.

This plan comes in the midst of Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s efforts to overturn an updated Tongass Land Management Plan, which includes projects like the Wrangell Island sale. That plan transitions from old growth to young trees. Murkowski opposes that approach, as does the industry.

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