My Turn: The Forest Service offers bountiful opportunities

  • By BETH PENDLETON
  • Thursday, January 14, 2016 1:01am
  • Opinion

This week, Alaska’s policy makers will turn their attention to resolving the state government’s fiscal crisis while maintaining critical services and supporting local and regional economic opportunity. With almost 22 million acres of land within the Tongass and Chugach National Forests, the Forest Service contributes to Alaska’s economic prosperity through employment wages and benefits, affordable energy, transportation and infrastructure, unique forest products and access to capital.

In 2015, the Forest Service employed over 600 permanent and 220 seasonal workers in Alaska. Employees own and rent housing, pay property taxes and purchase goods and services locally. In addition to their monetary contributions, many employees also serve on local boards and commissions, fundraise for local causes and volunteer as first responders.

In order to attract businesses and residents, communities need to offer plentiful and affordable energy. Many of Alaska’s rural villages are reliant on expensive diesel fuel for heat and electricity. Both national forests encourage renewable energy production. Currently, there are 15 permitted hydropower plants, serving over 18 communities. Forest Service professionals and funding are helping to deploy biomass energy systems that use young-growth and mill waste timber resources to heat and power small communities statewide. Renewable energy from our forests displaces tens of millions of gallons of expensive diesel fuel, as well as their resulting greenhouse gas emissions.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

Numerous electrical transmission interties cross Forest Service land, connecting systems between two or more communities and serving as economic corridors — bringing broadband and other shared utilities for distance education, financial management and banking, emergency management and tele-health to connected communities.

The Forest Service provides and maintains over 600 miles of road to passenger car standards and another 1,600 miles for high-clearance vehicles.

State and Private Forestry programs provide technical, educational and financial assistance to maintain and improve the health of Alaska’s forests and related economies. The cost-share grant to the state for forestry inventory work is $4 million in 2016. Funds are also provided to state and private agencies helping many small villages convert public facilities to more economical heating methods. The National Forest Foundation, in partnership with the Forest Service, offers a community capacity-building grant program to benefit the forests and the communities that depend upon it. The program facilitates job creation and business development while advancing the transition to sustainable young-growth forest management. Since 2012, the Community Capacity and Land Stewardship grant program has awarded nearly $500,000 to community organizations.

Beyond oil and government, Alaska’s top economic drivers include minerals, seafood and marine industries and tourism. Alaska’s national forests play a large part in the revenue generated by these economic sectors. There are currently two large mines operating on Forest Service land in Southeast, producing over 176,000 ounces of gold and nearly 6 million ounces of silver last year. Hecla’s Greens Creek mine is Juneau’s largest private sector employer and tax revenue generator.

The Tongass and Chugach are salmon forests. Wild salmon spawned and reared from habitat managed by the Forest Service account for up to 40 percent of Alaska’s commercial salmon harvest, with the catch, in total, worth $414 million in ex-vessel value in 2015. Alaska’s new mariculture farms are also reliant on healthy watersheds to grow fresh oysters bursting with flavor.

Many of Alaska’s 1.9 million visitors spend a portion of their visit recreating on the Chugach and the Tongass; fishing, hunting, camping, hiking and dog sledding. The visitor industry contributes over $3.72 billion to Alaska’s economy. Our forests provide unparalleled opportunities for unique experiences — where else can you watch whales, ride dog sleds, heli-ski and board on world class mountain terrain, observe bears, view bird migrations, hunt, fish and practice timeless traditions?

With a transition from the harvest of old growth trees to the sustainable harvest of smaller diameter young-growth trees, the Forest Service will support the opportunity for developing new, innovative, value-added forest products – ripe for Southeast entrepreneurs to reestablish a thriving forest products industry.

Forest Service employees in Alaska are your family, your friends, your elders, your neighborhood volunteers. Many of our young workers are your future employees. We have deep roots in our communities. We want Alaska to prosper from our national forests, to cultivate diverse industries that thrive in a healthy, sustainable manner. We provide jobs, roads, infrastructure, energy and goods alongside breathtaking natural wonders. The Forest Service is here, in Alaska, supporting families, businesses and communities and doing its part in supporting local, regional and statewide economic prosperity.

To learn more about the Forest Service in Alaska please go to: http://www.fs.usda.gov/main/r10/home, or @AKForestService on Twitter.

• Beth Pendleton is a regional forester in Juneau.

More in Opinion

Web
Have something to say?

Here’s how to add your voice to the conversation.

Attendees are seated during former President Jimmy Carter’s state funeral at Washington National Cathedral in Washington, on Jan. 9, 2025. Pictures shared on social media by the vice president and by the Carter Center prominently showed other past presidents in attendance. (Erin Schaff/The New York Times)
Opinion: Karen Pence’s silent act of conscience

Last week at Jimmy Carter’s funeral, President-elect Donald Trump and former President… Continue reading

The Douglas Island Pink and Chum Inc hatchery. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire file photo)
My Turn: Fisheries Proposal 156 jeopardizes Juneau sport fishing and salmon

The Board of Fisheries will meet in Ketchikan Jan. 28–Feb. 9 to… Continue reading

The Alaska State Capitol is seen in partial morning sun on May 10, 2024. (Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)
Opinion: Attacking Biden is not the answer for Alaska — leadership is

Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s transition report to the Trump administration accuses the Biden… Continue reading

Congress holds a joint session to certify the election results of 2024 on Capitol Hill in Washington, Jan. 6, 2025. President-elect Donald J. Trump has waffled on his preferences for how his party tackles his agenda, adding to the uncertainty for Republicans. (Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times)
Opinion: The moral imperative of our time

Last week, the Washington Post, censored a political cartoon by Pulitzer Prize… Continue reading

A view from the mountainside at Eaglecrest Ski Area. (Eaglecrest Ski Area photo)
Opinion: New report demonstrates how Eaglecrest Ski Area can be self-supporting

A recently released report by the City and Borough of Juneau (CBJ)… Continue reading

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Appreciative of Win Gruening’s columns, even if not always in agreement

In his Dec. 28 column Win Gruening reflected on his ten years… Continue reading

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Letter: Social Security law restores payments Congress took from public workers

The news media has been wrongly depicting the social security fix to… Continue reading

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski addresses the Alaska State Legislature in February of 2023 at the Alaska State Capitol. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire file photo)
My Turn: Alaska delegation deserves kudos for new Social Security law

The Social Security legislation just now signed into law brings a significant… Continue reading

A Chinook salmon is seen in an undated photo. (Photo by Ryan Hagerty/USFWS)
My Turn: Efforts to protect salmon, environment are to benefit a wide spectrum of interests

Tom Conner’s recent My Turn criticizing SalmonState was a messy mashup of… Continue reading

Rep.-elect Nick Begich III of Alaska is scheduled to be sworn in Monday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: Lip service to the Constitution

On Monday, Nick Begich III will be sworn in as Alaska’s congressman… Continue reading

The headwaters of the Ambler River in the Noatak National Preserve of Alaska, near where a proposed access road would end, are seen in an undated photo. (Ken Hill/National Park Service)
My Turn: Alaska’s responsible resource development is under threat

By Tom Conner Oil, mining, and fisheries have long been the bedrock… Continue reading

You're browsing in private mode.
Please sign in or subscribe to continue reading articles in this mode.

Juneau Empire relies on subscription revenue to provide local content for our readers.

Subscribe

Already a subscriber? Please sign in