Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
The Tongass and participating stakeholders have begun to transition out of a
model of forest management that benefits a few at the expense of many by focusing on
ecological restoration as common ground. Yet, like any region or national forest facing
the need for restoration, expensive treatment costs combined with a lack of funding,
declining agency budgets, insufficient staff capacity, and complex policies and proce-
dures all make implementation challenging. While many challenges lie ahead, two
significant barriers are institutional and community capacity. The transition to forest
management that prioritizes management of second-growth stands, restoration, and
sustainable forest management will require the institutional capacity and commit-
ment from the U.S. Forest Service to develop a program of work that uses new tools,
such as stewardship contracting (Moseley and Davis 2010), and new collaborative
venues that build the community capacity (both business and social agreement) to
implement model projects and apply them to a forestwide strategy of landscape
restoration.
Institutional
As the principal land manager in the region, the U.S. Forest Service must make the
necessary adjustments to prioritize ecological restoration as a management direction.
The policy statements to date are a step in the right direction, but they should be fol-
lowed with a program of work that reflects this shift in priority, an investment in staff
capacity, and a focus on stewardship contracting. The current Tongass Land Manage-
ment Plan remains problematic in its focus on large, traditional timber outputs and a
new plan will ultimately be necessary. Absent a new plan, the U.S. Forest Service
should develop a schedule of active forest management activities (thinning of dense,
second-growth stands, instream habitat restoration, road decommissioning, and small-
scale, old-growth timber harvest) that is both predictable and socially acceptable.
Without a long-term supply and predictable program of work, the local workforce
cannot make the necessary investments to retool. Collaborative partners must also
work closely with the agency to develop environmental analysis documents that re-
flect shared priorities and are scientifically, ecologically, and legally sound.
In addition to a program of work, the U.S. Forest Service must invest resources to
retrain and encourage existing staff to use mechanisms other than traditional timber
contracts. While the top-down directives are encouraging, the historical and cultural
influence of old-growth logging remains embedded in agency culture; at the district
and staff level, restoration is not necessarily accepted as a management priority. Stew-
ardship contracting (see chap. 12, this volume), a U.S. Forest Service authority that
typically involves community collaboration, exchanges goods for services, and awards
contracts based on best value, has been underutilized on the Tongass and can provide
a catalyst to implement landscape-scale demonstration projects.
For example, while there are thousands of acres of second-growth forest on the
Tongass, very little is ready for commercial timber harvest and won't be ready for an-
other twenty years. In the meantime, stands need thinning treatments to improve for-
age and connectivity for wildlife. Stewardship authorities may allow operators to use
