The Alaska Legislature passed a bill this session to add 23,000 acres to the Southeast State Forest (SESF). The SESF was established by the legislature in 2010, with an initial designation of about 25,000 acres, with the objective of creating and sustaining jobs in the timber industry in Alaska. Governor Parnell introduced the bill, and is expected to sign it, as part of a long-term strategy to "stabilize and revitalize the timber industry" in Southeast Alaska.
The Alaska Division of Forestry will manage the SESF for long-term timber supply and other uses, including fish and wildlife habitat, recreation, hunting, fishing and mining through a Forest Management Plan that will be prepared within three years.
The Southeast State Forest is Alaska's third State Forest. The 268,000 acre Haines State Forest was established in 1982 and the 1.8 million acre Tanana Valley State Forest was established in 1983.
For more information about Alaska's State Forests, including maps and fact sheets, click here for the Alaska Division of Forestry's State Forests page.
The State tells us that their timber sale program brings in more in stumpage payments than it costs to run the program.
Some timberlands grow trees much faster than others, but on the average it takes about 100 years to grow the timber in SE Alaska to maturity. A harvest level of about 12,000 acres per year on good growing sites would sustain the industry in perpetuity. However, their are significant non-timbered areas within the forest - muskegs, lakes, alpine areas, etc. - so until the State has substantially more timberlands managed for growing trees, the mills will have to rely on the federal timberlands for most of their timber supply.
Posted by: Owen Graham | Tuesday, April 19, 2011 at 11:18 AM
This may be a good thing for the "dying" timber industry in Alaska. But, what will be the true impact economically?
Posted by: Jay | Tuesday, April 19, 2011 at 09:45 AM