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Tongass Home » Projects and Plans » Tongass Land Management Plan

1997 Annual Monitoring & Evaluation Report

Introduction

This is the fifth annual Monitoring and Evaluation Report for the Tongass National Forest. As part of a National Monitoring and Evaluation Strategy, every National Forest began issuing annual monitoring and evaluation reports in 1993. The purpose of these reports is to provide the public with information about how well the management direction of the Forest is being carried out and for measuring the accomplishments of anticipated outputs, activities, and effects.

Monitoring provides the public and the Forest Service with important information on the progress and results of implementing the Forest Plan. Monitoring and evaluation provide an important feedback mechanism for helping to keep the Forest Plan dynamic and responsive to necessary changes.

The monitoring objectives of the Forest Plan are to determine if:

The management situation described in the Plan has changed.
Anticipated output levels are being achieved.
Environmental effects are as anticipated.
Scheduled activities are being implemented.
Standards and guidelines are being implemented.
The resource information used to project outputs and effects was accurate.

The 1997 Monitoring and Evaluation Report represents the last monitoring and evaluation report for activities conducted under the 1979 Tongass Land Management Plan. Subsequent Reports will reflect the Monitoring Plan contained in the Revised Forest Plan. Some items have been deleted from previous monitoring reports for FY'97 because they are not included in the Forest Plan Revision Monitoring Plan. Some of the monitoring items from the Forest Plan Revision Monitoring Plan are not included in this report because we have collected no data or we did not have a developed protocol for collecting the data in FY 1997. The Monitoring Plan Cross Reference Table included at the end of this section shows a correlation between the monitoring items and the illustrates changes in this monitoring and evaluation report.

This report has two parts: Chapter 1 includes the Forest Plan Monitoring Items; Chapter 2 provides information on activities to implement additional monitoring requirements for specific projects.

The following information is based largely on monitoring reports prepared by each Administrative Area. These reports are available from the Administrative Areas. All the information is for Fiscal Year 1997 (October 1, 1996 to September 30, 1997) unless otherwise noted.

Chapter 1 - Tongass Land Management Plan (212 Kb PDF)

Section	Title	Page
1.	What are the type and number of recreation facilities constructed or reconstructed?	1-1
2.	What is the number of miles of trail constructed or reconstructed?	1-1
3.	What are the acres of non-structural habitat improvements completed?	1-2
4.	What is the number of structural habitats completed?	1-3
5.	What is the total number of acres of precommercial thinning accomplished?	1-3
6.	What is the total area of watershed improvement in acres?	1-4
7.	What are the total miles of road construction? Of road reconstruction?	1-4
8.	What is the total number of log transfer facilities (LTFs) constructed or reconstructed?	1-5
9.	For the timber sale program, how much volume has been offered? How much has been harvested?	1-5
10.	Are harvested forest lands restocked within five years following harvest?	1-5
11.	Are heritage resources standards and guidelines being implemented? Are heritage resources standards and guidelines effective in protecting heritage/cultural resources as expected?	1-6
12.	Are the standards and guidelines for the management of wilderness being implemented?	1-11
13.	Are the standards and guidelines for the management of wilderness effective in maintaining the wilderness resource?	1-15
14.	Are Wild, Scenic, and Recreational River standards and guidelines being implemented?	1-16
15.	Are Wild, Scenic, and Recreational River standards and guidelines effective in maintaining or enhancing the free flowing conditions and outstandingly remarkable values at the classification level for which the river was found suitable for designation as part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System?	1-16
16.	Are fish and riparian standards and guidelines being implemented?	1-17
17.	Are fish and riparian standards and guidelines effective in maintaining or improving fish habitat?	1-19
18.	Are management practices consistent with current knowledge regarding sensitive species conservation (federally listed threatened or endangered species, Alaska Region sensitive species, and State species of special concern?	1-21
19.	Are timber activities adhering to applicable timber management standards and guidelines as prescribed in the Forest Plan?	1-22
20.	Are contiguous blocks of old growth habitat being maintained in a forest-wide system of old growth reserves to support viable and well distributed populations of old growth-associated species and subspecies?	1-26
21.	Are Best Management Practices being implemented?	1-26
22.	Are Best Management Practices effective in meeting water quality standards?	1-36
23.	Are the standards and guidelines effective in meeting Alaska Regional Soil Quality Standards?	1-41
24.	Are the effects of mining activities on surface resources consistent with Forest Plan expectations, as allowed in approved Plans of Operations?	1-42
25.	Are standards and guidelines used for forest development roads and Log Transfer Facilities (LTFs) effective in limiting the environmental effects to anticipated levels?	1-45
26.	Is off-road vehicle (ORV) use causing, or will it cause, considerable adverse effects on soil, water, vegetation, fish and wildlife, visitors, or cultural and historic resources of the Forest?	1-47
27	Are destructive insect and disease organisms increasing to potentially damaging levels following management activities?	1-48

Chapter 2 - Project Monitoring (208 Kb PDF)

Area	District	Resource Area	Page
Chatham Area			2-1
	Admiralty Island National Monument/Kootznoowoo Wilderness		2-1
		Minerals	2-1
		Fish, Wildlife, Ecology and Subsistence	2-2
		Recreation and Wilderness	2-4
	Hoonah Ranger District		2-4
		Recreation and Non-recreation Special Uses	2-4
		Wildlife	2-5
		Fisheries and Watershed	2-5
	Juneau Ranger District		2-5
		Minerals	2-5
		Fish and Wildlife	2-6
		TES Inventory and Monitoring	2-9
		Recreation and Wilderness	2-10
	Sitka Ranger District		2-5
		Riparian Thinning	2-10
	Yakutat Ranger District		2-11
		Recreation and Lands	2-11
Ketchikan Area			2-12
		Interagency Monitoring Field Trip	2-12
	Craig Ranger District		2-20
		Fisheries Monitoring	2-20
		Wilderness	2-23
		Minerals	2-24
		Special Uses	2-24
		Heritage Resources	2-24
		Wildlife & Plants	2-24
	Ketchikan Ranger District/Misty Fjords National Monument		2-26
		Fisheries	2-26
		Wildlife & Plants	2-27
		Silvicultural Monitoring	2-28
	Thorne Bay Ranger District		2-29
		Fisheries	2-29
		Wildlife	2-29
		Plants	2-30
		Karst and Caves	2-30
Stikine Area			2-30
	Petersburg Ranger District		2-30
		Fish, Wildlife, and Subsistence	2-30
		Timber	2-36
		Recreation	2-36
		Wilderness	2-38
		Heritage	2-39
		Special Uses	2-39
	Wrangell Ranger District		2-40
		Fish, Wildlife, and Subsistence	2-40
		Timber	2-46
		Wilderness	2-48

Tables

Table	Title	Page
Table 1-1	Miles of Trail Constructed or Reconstructed	1-2
Table 1-2	Road Constructed/Reconstructed	1-4
Table 1-3	Timber Volume Offered/Harvested	1-5
Table 1-4	FY 1997 Harvest Unit Summary - All Ketchikan Area Districts	1-34
Table 1-5	FY 1997 Road Segment Survey - All Ketchikan Area Districts	1-35
Table 1-6	Status of Phase II Stream Buffer Monitoring Sites on the Chatham Area, Tongass National Forest	1-37
Table 2-1	FY 1997 Unit Summary - 100% Sample Results	2-13,14
Table 2-2	FY 1997 Road Segment Summary - 100% Sample Results	2-14,15
Table 2-3	Summary of Coded Wire Tag Returns	2-21
Table 2-4	Steelhead Escapement Counts	2-22
Table 2-5	Road Condition Summary (Culverts)	2-31
Table 2-6	Road Condition Summary (Roadway and Quarries)	2-31
Table 2-7	Outmigrant Capture Statistics	2-32
Table 2-8	Contribution of Fishpasses to the Commercial Fishery	2-34
Table 2-9	Special Use Permit Sites	2-40

Appendices (60 Kb PDF)

Appendix	Title	Page
Appendix A	Glossary
	Common Abbreviations	A-1
	Definitions	A-3
Appendix B	Appendix B 1997 TLMP Monitoring and Evaluation Plan Cross-walk with Proposed FY 1997 Monitoring Questions	B-1
Appendix C	Reworded Questions for FY97 Tongass M&E Report	C-1

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Last Modified: September 21, 2006