Originally posted on The Nature Conservancy Blog on August 27, 2012. A Volvo 480 crawler excavator is a big yellow machine. Weighing in at well over 50 tons, it will move just about anything, such as a 17,000-pound log. Massive logs like these are key ingredients in restoring salmon streams but only if they’re put in the right place. In all, a crew from a local contractor, Southeast Road Builders, carefully placed 325 logs in just the right spots in and along Alaska’s... (Read more…)

Originally published in SourDough Notes , Fall 2011. Written by Lezlie Murray, Visitor Services Director, Chugach National Forest It’s a rare thing, but every now and then a Forest Service interpreter creates a history program from the inside out, and “becomes” the person they are interpreting. Such a rare person is Peggy Burnette, who has tackled the difficult assignment of living-history interpretation and succeeded. Though Alaska Nellie made a name for herself in Southcentral Alaska... (Read more…)

Stretching across Southeast Alaska, the 17-million-acre Tongass National Forest is both the United States’ largest National Forest and the world’s largest temperate rainforest. All within this one National Forest, you can find glaciers, fjords, forests, wetlands and more. From the moment you enter the forest, you know you’re experiencing “wild” Alaska. Throughout the forest and along the trails, nature holds you every step of the way. Soaring majestically above the trees,... (Read more…)

We all know what they say about a fish out of water, but what about a salmon without trees? Well, as strange as it may sound, in order to thrive, salmon need trees. Dead trees in riparian areas often end up in creeks and riverbeds, where they begin a second life providing critically important habitat for salmon. The piles of woody debris create pools and shelter for young salmon to hide in, and house the insects that the salmon eat. And the relationship doesn’t stop there; trees need salmon... (Read more…)

It’s a hard life growing up in the Forest Service.  There are streams to fish, cabins to visit and trails to hike.  You end up with way too many Smokey Bear shoelaces and pencils and have to go to potlucks at campgrounds.  Well, on second thought, I guess it doesn’t sound all that bad.  Actually, for me, growing up as the daughter of a District Ranger was really nothing short of wonderful. The US Forest Service has defined my family from the very... (Read more…)