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The Tongass National Forest is the largest national forest in the United States, covering approximately 16.7 million acres in southeastern Alaska. It's a vast, temperate rainforest and one of the most ecologically significant protected areas in the world.
🌲 Key Facts
- Location: Southeastern Alaska (the Alaska Panhandle)
- Size: ~16.7 million acres (about the size of West Virginia)
- Established: 1907
- Managed by: U.S. Forest Service
🌧️ Ecosystem and Environment
- Temperate rainforest: The largest of its kind in the world.
- High rainfall, mild coastal climate, and lush old-growth forests.
- Home to massive Sitka spruce, western hemlock, and red cedar trees.
🐻 Wildlife
Tongass is rich in biodiversity, including:
- Bald eagles
- Brown and black bears
- Wolves
- Moose and Sitka black-tailed deer
- All five species of Pacific salmon, which are vital to the ecosystem and local economy
🏞️ Landscapes
- Includes fjords, glaciers, mountains, islands, and rugged coastlines.
- 19 designated wilderness areas within the forest.
- Part of the Inside Passage, a scenic coastal route used by cruise ships and ferries.
🧑🤝🧑 People and Culture
- Home to Indigenous peoples, including the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian.
- Traditional lifestyles such as fishing, carving, and storytelling remain integral to the culture.
- Local communities rely on the forest for subsistence hunting, fishing, and gathering.
⚒️ Conservation and Controversy
- Ongoing debates over logging vs. conservation.
- The forest contains valuable old-growth timber, sparking disputes about clear-cutting and habitat loss.
- The Roadless Rule, which limits road-building in undeveloped forest areas, has been applied and repealed multiple times in Tongass depending on federal policy shifts.
🚶 Recreation
- Popular for:
- Hiking
- Fishing and hunting
- Kayaking
- Wildlife viewing
- Photography and eco-tourism
- Notable places: Misty Fjords National Monument, Admiralty Island, and the Mendenhall Glacier near Juneau.
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