The Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources adopted the Southeast State Forest Management Plan on Feb. 29. In addition, the Commissioner reclassified nearly 46,600 acres of state land to forest land, consistent with the adopted forest plan. Requests for reconsideration of this decision must be received within 20 calendar days of the public notice issued on March 2.
The Southeast State Forest is Alaska’s third and smallest state forest. It consists of 32 forest units ranging from 314 to 5,101 acres in size, for a total of 46,952 acres. The forest units are widely scattered among 11 islands located between Petersburg and Ketchikan and include two mainland units by Wrangell. This state forest’s purpose is the permanent management of these lands as a working forest to provide a sustainable supply of timber and other important values to the people of Alaska. Although the Southeast State Forest is dwarfed in size by federal lands, it is actively managed as a working forest and makes important contributions to the regional and local economies.
The Southeast State Forest Management Plan, the land classification order, the 2016 Southern Southeast Area Forest Inventory and maps can be viewed or downloaded at: http://www.forestry.alaska.gov/stateforests#sesf.
