The Hoonah Native Forest Partnership or HNFP
The Hoonah Native Forest Partnership (HNFP) is a science-based, landscape scale, community forest approach to watershed planning and project implementation. The overall goal of the HNFP is to achieve a measurable and resilient blend of timber, salmon and deer production, local economic diversification and improved watershed health. The HNFP is one of southeast Alaska’s premiere all-lands, all-hands initiatives and our hopes is that this effort can be used as a model for other areas in the region.
HNFP Partners
The HNFP core partners are Sealaska, Huna Totem, The Hoonah Indian Association, The City of Hoonah, The Nature Conservancy, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Subsistence Division and the US Forest Service. Each party brings to the table a unique set of assets and resources that we are pulling together for increased collective impact. We have developed a Memorandum of Understanding that spells out the commitments, roles and responsibilities for each party.
Funding
The Partnership was successful in securing four years of start-up funding from the NRCS Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). Initial support also includes approximately 30% match in cash and in-kind technical support. Additional funding is being sought through USFS appropriated dollars and a variety of grant opportunities but our long-term goal is to fund much of the stewardship work with sustainable business management and a payments for ecosystem services approach.
Structure
The HNFP operational structure is comprised of (1) Steering Committee – which provides overall program oversight and focuses on identifying community priority outcomes and the financial sustainability of the program; (2) Technical Team – which provides direction on natural resource inventory, assessment and planning; and (3) Field Crew – who are the eyes and ears of the work on the ground, the repository for investing in local knowledge and the practitioners of community-based stewardship.
Science
The HNFP is exploring the cost effectiveness of cutting edge scientific tools. For example, we have acquired LiDAR data for the project area. This ‘light-radar’ data not only provides a high resolution topography model, but can also produce detailed information about forests and streams. We hope that integrating LiDAR data products with proven models for timber, salmon and deer will enhance their capacity for facilitating desired future conditions while saving money over the long-term.
Target Metrics
Tradition & Subsistence
We are targeting protection and enhancement of opportunities for traditional cultural practices such as subsistence hunting, fishing and berry-picking.
Economic Localization
We are targeting keeping more dollars in the local economy by using natural resources to plug leakages in the food, energy, and construction sectors.
Workforce Capacity
We are targeting increased local workforce capacity for timber, fish, wildlife and infrastructure inventory, assessment, enhancement and monitoring.
Business Development
We are targeting new local business opportunities in renewable energy, recreation and tourism, timber and non-timber forest products.
HNFP Project Area
The HNFP project area is approximately 150,000 acres covering all complete watersheds within which Regional Native Corporation (Sealaska) and Village Corporation (Huna Totem) lands exist.
Follow the Action and Share your Enthusiasm!
Click on the icon above and like the HNFP Facebook page to stay up to date on the latest news from the HNFP Team.
Newsletter
Click the icon above and subscribe to the HNFP seasonal newsletter to learn about project insights and accomplishments.
Calendar
Click on the icon above and view the HNFP calendar of events to see what is on the field work and meeting schedule.
Photos
Click on the icon above and visit the HNFP Flikr site to view photos that have been collected during field work and events.