Forest Service favors larger Prince of Wales logging plan that may restrict deer hunting

The U.S. Forest Service released a draft decision Friday that would allow up to 26.4 million board feet of old-growth logging on northern Prince of Wales Island, the larger of two harvest plans the agency analyzed. The draft finds the project's effects "present a significant possibility of a significant restriction on subsistence uses of deer."

Under federal law, the agency can go ahead after such a finding only after giving notice, holding a hearing and determining that the restriction is necessary, uses the minimum amount of land needed and comes with reasonable steps to reduce harm. The draft says it has done each.

Deer harvest in Game Management Unit 2, which covers Prince of Wales, has declined since peaking in 2015 and has fallen below the state's objective of 2,700 deer, according to the project's final environmental review. In April, after tribal and community testimony about declining deer, the Federal Subsistence Board gave Unit 2 residents priority for deer and restricted hunters who live elsewhere, the review says.

At least 12 rural communities use the forest in the project area for subsistence, at minimum for deer hunting, the draft decision says. The review lists 18 that have used it, from Coffman Cove and Craig to Ketchikan and Wrangell.

The choice

Acting Tongass National Forest Supervisor Janelle Crocker, who signed the draft, did not select a smaller option that would have cut about 15 million board feet from about 1,144 acres, stayed out of deer travel corridors and high-value winter habitat, and had 29 fewer stream crossings. It would have supported fewer jobs, an estimated 63 to 67.

The plan she favors has the most old-growth volume and is expected to support the most opportunities for local and regional jobs, an estimated 111 to 119, according to the draft record of decision. Timber sales from the project would help provide mills with about a three-year supply, the draft says, and the agency estimates up to $6.54 million in labor income. The extra 11.1 million board feet gives the agency "greater flexibility during implementation to be responsive to market changes," the draft says.

The draft cites a presidential executive order on expanding timber production and says the project would raise the amount of old-growth timber on Prince of Wales cleared through environmental review from about 1 million to 27.4 million board feet.

Crocker said in a Forest Service release that the project would support a viable timber industry in Southeast Alaska and provide jobs for Alaskans. Sarah Dahlstrom, manager of Viking Lumber Company in Klawock, the island's largest timber-sector employer, called the project "absolutely necessary for the survival of the timber industry." James Taggart, who has filed an objection, argues the roads would fragment subsistence deer habitat and asks the agency to choose no action.

Where the logging would happen

The harvest would cover about 1,738 acres in two areas, Red Bay on the island's north end and Staney near Naukati, about 75 to 100 miles west of Ketchikan, over 10 to 15 years. The plan calls for about 13 miles of new temporary road and reopening 33.3 miles of closed roads. No new permanent roads would be built, and no work is proposed inside the five inventoried roadless areas the project touches.

What's next

Only people who submitted specific written comments earlier may object, within 45 days of the legal notice. If objections are filed, a 45-day review follows. If none are, a final decision may be signed five business days after the period closes. Consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service on fish habitat is still underway and will be completed in the final decision.