BACKGROUND

Alaska has 129 million acres of forested land, stretching from the coastal rain forest of Southeast to the boreal forest of the Interior. In the 1970s, timber was the second-largest industry in Alaska with more than 4,000 jobs. Today, an estimated 500 direct and indirect industry jobs exist due to shifting government policy and federal land use shifts that began in the 1990s: 99% of the Tongass National Forest, the nation’s largest forest, remains closed to timber harvesting; no commercial harvests occur in the Chugach, the nation’s second-largest forest. This is due, in part, to a nationwide roadless rule that needs repeal. Still, forestry holds much potential to diversify the economy. The industry sustainably utilizes a renewable resource, providing jobs and biomass energy for the 49th state. Logging on Alaska Native corporation lands provide over two-thirds of all logging jobs in Alaska. Harvests also occur on state lands. With an average wage of nearly $10,000 higher than the average private sector wage, forestry jobs support families and communities. RDC works to address challenges providing an adequate supply of timber sales from state and federal lands to ensure the forest products industry continue to contribute to the economy.

WEB LINKS

• http://forestry.alaska.gov/
• http://forestry.alaska.gov/pdfs/2010AlaskaStatewideAssessment.pdf
• http://www.dced.state.ak.us/oed/forest_products/forest_products.htm
• http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/tongass/forest_facts/faqs/faqs.shtml
• http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/chugach/

SOURCES

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