Managing America’s Largest Forest: A Land Redesignation Proposal for the Tongass National Forest Restricted; Files Only

Abstract

The Tongass National Forest is the largest remaining intact temperate rainforest in the world. Located in Southeast Alaska, the Tongass provides a multitude of ecosystem and cultural services to the region. Historically, the U.S. Forest Service has managed the Tongass on a timber-first basis. Decades of intensive logging have caused the destruction of rare and vital old growth ecosystems within the Tongass. The question of how to manage this vast resource has been at the heart of Tongass management debates since its creation. In this thesis I trace the policy history accompanying Tongass management debates and explore the impact on modern management. Building from this policy history, I propose a land redesignation procedure that is historically informed, inclusive of public input, and deeply focused on ecological preservation. This proposal is not intended to provide a definitive management plan, but to demonstrate how land designations can be reassessed and reassigned under existing policy mechanisms to improve Tongass management.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

1. Introduction……………….……………………………….………........1

2. Background...…………….…………………...……….….………........4

           Bio-physical Attributes……………………………………..........4

           People and Economy……………………………....……….........10

3. Policy History………………...…………………...……....…….........16

           1907-1979………………………………..…………….……..........18

           1979-2025………………………………………………...…..........27

4. Proposed Approach for Land Redesignations………….…..........48

           4.a Decision Structure…………………..….……………...........51

                       Public Input…………………………………………..........51

                       Value Groups…………………………………...............…54

                       Creating Value-Oriented Objectives……..……..........59

           4.b Modeling Procedure…………………………….........….…..60

                       Rationale for Modeling Location…………..........….…60

                       Procedure for Identifying Redesignation Areas...…...64

                       Mapping Objectives………………………………........…66

                       Objectives Integration……………..………......………...71

5. Results and Discussion………………...………………….......………75

           Discussion………………………………………………..........…...80

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Environmental Sciences
Degree	B.S.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Land Use Planning Agriculture, Forestry and Wildlife Environmental Management
Keyword	Old growth Tongass National Forest US Forest Service Southeast Alaska Forest Management
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Megan Mucioki, Emory University
Committee Members	Thomas Rogers, Emory University Eric Lonsdorf, Emory University

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