Remains of a Tongass clear-cut and logging road north of Ketchikan. (Ed Schoenfeld/CoastAlaska)
The U.S. Forest Service has scheduled three public meetings in Juneau, Sitka and Ketchikan to update the public on the proposed Tongass Land and Resource Management Plan Amendment.
The focus of the amendment is the transition to young-growth timber harvest, and phasing out traditional old-growth logging on the Tongass.
The first public meeting is Monday evening in Juneau. A meeting in Sitka is set for Wednesday evening, and the Ketchikan meeting is Feb. 2nd.
That last meeting will start at 5 p.m. at Ketchikan’s Southeast Alaska Discovery Center.
According to an announcement from the Forest Service, public comment will be accepted during each meeting on the draft monitoring program plan. That monitoring program is required to make sure that the new management plan is implemented properly.
Click here to see the draft monitoring program plan: http://www.fs.usda.gov/main/tongass/landmanagement/planning.
