Tongass National Forest

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Fisheries, Watershed, Wildlife, Botany and Subsistence Department

Animals and plants are abundant and diverse in Southeast Alaska. They depend on healthy ecosystems to survive and thrive. The Sitka Ranger District manages habitat on 1.8 million acres (2,812 square miles which is larger than the state of Delaware or Rhode Island) of the Tongass National Forest. The landscape is composed of steep mountains, alpine meadows, coniferous forests, muskegs, saltwater estuaries, and open ocean.

The Sitka Ranger District is made up of hundreds of islands. The largest is Baranof Island, at just over 1,600 square miles, but many as small as an acre exist on the district.

Fisheries & Watershed

The Sitka Ranger District contains over 1,900 miles of streams used by anadromous fish such as coho salmon, sockeye salmon, pink salmon, chum salmon and steelhead trout and over 1,800 miles of streams used by resident fish species such as rainbow trout, cutthroat trout and Dolly Varden Char. There are over 3,100 miles of perennial and intermittent streams that are important for water quality and fish on the district. This is a place where the numbers of fish are truly astounding when adults return to streams for spawning; many streams having tens of thousands of adult salmon spawning over the course of the summer. The Sitka Ranger District is perfect whether you want to see or photograph this event or try your luck at fishing in freshwater or saltwater. Click on the here to find out more about the fisheries and watershed programs on the Sitka Ranger District.

Wildlife

Critters large and small, with fur, flippers and feathers are found on the Sitka Ranger District. From mink to mountain goat to murrelet, from brown creepers to brown bears, from harlequin ducks to humback whales, we’ve got them. Whether you are interested in wildlife watching or hunting, this is a great place to explore the wilds of Southeast Alaska. Click here to find out more about the wildlife program on the Sitka Ranger District.

Botany

If botany is what you desire, find out more about plants and the botany program on the Sitka Ranger Districts soon to be published botany page. Wide open spaces, relatively unexplored for plants, especially in remote alpine and subalpine areas, are our specialty.

Subsistence

The Federal Subsistence Management Program is a multi-agency effort to provide the opportunity for a subsistence way of life for hunting, fishing and plant gathering by rural Alaskans on Federal public lands and waters while maintaining healthy populations of fish and wildlife. Subsistence is something unique to Alaska and is defined in the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA).

National Direction for Fish, Watershed, Wildlife, Botany
and Subsistence Programs on Sitka Ranger District

How do these resource programs fit into the big picture of the Tongass National Forest management and the Forest Service as a whole? We have national direction to follow on the Sitka Ranger District. For example, the chief of the Forest Service, Gail Kimbell, is focusing the agency on 3 emphasis areas important to the National Forest System lands and the people who use them. Specifically:

1. Water
2. Global Climate Change
3. Getting Kids in Touch with Nature.

This build on the 4 Threats, that Dale Bosworth, previous Chief of the Forest Service, gave for direction on National Forest system Land; Specifically:

1. Fire and fuels—Many fire-adapted forests have become overgrown and unhealthy. The result has been some of the biggest fire seasons since the 1950s.
2. Invasive species—America has thousands of plants, animals, and disease-causing microorganisms in places where they didn’t evolve and where there are few or no environmental controls. Many are driving out our native species. After habitat loss and degradation, invasive species are the greatest single cause of biodiversity loss. We are losing our precious heritage.
3. Loss of open space—America is losing the large, relatively undisturbed forests which animals like marten, bear, and cougar need to survive.
4. Unmanaged recreation—Americans are playing outdoors in record numbers, and that’s great. It gives them a stake in the land. Back when outdoor recreation was light, it didn’t need to be managed; but now that it’s heavier, it does.

On the Sitka Ranger District, we take this direction seriously; 2 of these threats, invasive species and unmanaged recreation, hit close to home. Invasive plant species such as Japanese knotweed, hawkweed and reed canary grass can out compete native vegetation. Unmanaged recreation, particularly by off highway vehicles (OHVs), can damage watersheds, water quality, vegetation, fish habitat and fish. In addition, we work very hard to inform and educate the public by formal programs and informal means such as when we see a member of the public in the field. Click here to see more about the Information/Education work on Sitka Ranger District.

Biologists, hydrologists and botanists on the Sitka Ranger District ensure healthy ecosystems, good habitat and viable species populations on your national forest in several ways. We conduct surveys to determine what type of habitat is out there, what problems (if any) exist, what species are present (sometimes with cooperation from Alaska Department of Fish and Game) and what can be done to fix problems in the environment. We design projects to improve or enhance habitat necessary for target species or improve access to high quality habitat for species.

Another way that we manage natural resources on the Tongass National Forest is by working with other departments of the Forest Service such as timber, recreation, and engineering to ensure projects increase the benefits or minimize potential effects on fish, wildlife or plants and the environments in which they live.

Working in Southeast Alaska

How do we get to work in the morning? Things are just a little different in southeast Alaska. You can’t drive a car out to your project site because the road system in Sitka is only about 17 miles long and doesn’t connect to the vast majority of the Sitka Ranger District which is 1.8 million acres in size. Transportation is mainly by boat, float plane or helicopter. Our main transportation is a 29 foot drop bow, aluminum boat. We can carry ATVs, lots of equipment and people in this craft. We do lots of hiking to get into remote areas to conduct monitoring or implement projects. We set up field camps in remote areas which are composed of tarps and tents. We commonly stay out for 8 days at a time in the soggy weather of Southeast Alaska.

Did I mention we have brown bears? All field going personnel are trained to work in bear country. We know how to “get along” with our local bruins. However, brown bears are sometimes unpredictable so all our personnel are trained and required to carry .375 H&H rifles “just in case.” This is important for camping too. We separate cooking/eating areas from sleeping areas and clean up all food and waste so we don’t bring bears into our camps. One of the mottos in Southeast Alaska is “A fed bear is a dead bear.” Once a bear learns to associate food with people, you’ve got trouble!