Month: June 2008

Carstensen: Roadless focus may sidetrack conservation of critical watersheds

Naturalist Richard Carstensen thinks that the conservation movement’s emphasis on protecting roadless watersheds in the Tongass may have come at too high a price. The Forest Service in January released an amendment to the Tongass Land Management Plan that calls for re-opening timber harvests in the remaining old growth stands in previously-logged watersheds – areas Carstensen calls “hammered gems.” In the second part of a two-part interview, Carstensen talks with KCAWs Robert Woolsey about why he believes logged areas should be conserved, and why that opinion presents a challenge to the environmental community. Part 2 of 2. To read the 29-page essay by Carstensen, and co-author Bob Christensen, go to http://www.seawead.org/content/view/31/9/

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MEHS gets new Director

The state Department of Education and Early Development has named Sitka resident William Hutton as Director of the state-run boarding school in Sitka, Mt. Edgecumbe High School. Hutton will take over the helm on July 1st. He replaces Bill Denkinger, who announced his retirement in February.

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Carstensen: Logged watersheds still ecologically productive

One of Southeast Alaska's leading naturalists believes that some of the region's most-heavily logged watersheds remain some of its most ecologically productive. After spending three years ground-truthing decades-old clearcuts, Richard Carstensen says many prime watersheds are damaged -- not destroyed -- and should not endure the additional logging called for in the recently-amended Tongass Land Management Plan. Part 1 of 2 with KCAW's Robert Woolsey

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Lodge rebuilds after fire

A landmark Southeast fishing lodge has bounced back, after a fire destroyed a major portion of the facility last September. Melissa Marconi Wentzel reports how Leonard’s Landing in Yakutat is rebuilding and anticipating a good season.

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Young growth log cabin could herald new wood products industry on Tongass

The Forest Service recently wrapped up a log cabin construction project in Sitka that could represent a shift in how the agency manages the Tongass. With a dwindling timber economy, the Sitka Ranger District is looking for new ways to maximize the forest’s resources, while supporting fish and wildlife. The agency last month (May) hosted a two-week log cabin construction class utilizing young growth Sitka spruce trees. The trees were harvested as part of a watershed restoration project in Sitka’s Starrigavan Valley. Melissa Marconi Wentzel reports how Forest Service staff and others hope the project will jump-start a new wood products industry in the nation’s largest national forest,

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