Tongass National Forest

Learning About the Stikine River Valley As a Key Coastal Wetland for Migrating Birds

Contact: Tom Cady, 907-874-2323

Wrangell, Alaska, June 18 - The Wrangell Ranger District is pleased to announce its partnership with Ducks Unlimited to launch an inventory project in the Stikine River Valley and Delta Area, one of three Key Coastal Wetlands in Alaska and a critical stopover in the spectacular phenomena of bird migration that spans continents. Ducks Unlimited will conduct the inventory the week of July 9-14th, documenting plant species and community types from across the area.

Within the Stikine-LeConte Wilderness, the valley and delta sustain internationally significant populations of migrating shorebirds, waterfowl, eagles, as well as subsistence game and fish populations. Despite its importance, there is a critical lack of information describing and evaluating habitat character, quality, and changes that may occur due to natural or human-related causes in the area.

Inventories in the past have largely occurred on areas slated for timber harvest, due to potentially significant impact from ground-disturbing areas. Funding for wilderness inventories, therefore, is harder to come by. This is a rare and valuable opportunity to collect that information.

The inventory will include both helicopter over-flights and ground-verification foot surveys. If you’re thinking, “helicopters aren’t allowed in the wilderness,” you’re right. Mostly. They can be used for emergency response, for example. Other than emergencies, the use of helicopters in wilderness is a big deal. So big, in fact, that use is only allowed when the Forest Service Regional Forester determines that it is the “minimum tool” for the job, as he has done in this case.

Wilderness is supposed to provide opportunities for solitude in areas untrammeled by humans. So why approve this noisy intrusion? The Ducks Unlimited inventory fulfills three of the six public purposes for which wilderness is designated: (1) scientific research on waterfowl and migrating bird habitat, including habitat change over time, (2) education about the habitats and their benefits, and (3) conservation of habitats and the species that use them.

Use of this helicopter-based approach will provide information compatible with Ducks Unlimited work all over North America. It will also provide information the Forest Service hasn’t found a way to fund in decades of wilderness management.