Sitka Contractors, USFS staff and SCS staff discuss potential timber operations based on the False Island road system near Sitka.
Project Name: Sitka Sustainable Timber Project
Community: Sitka
Support Organization: SCS
Support Organization Staff: Zia Brucaya
Target Outcomes: Community Visions, Capacity Development
Strategies: Engagement and Empowerment, Capacity Development, Storytelling
P&P Funding: $12,000
Partners: Sitka Collaborative Stewardship Group (steering committee members: Sitka Economic Development Association, City and Borough of Sitka, Sitka Tribe of Alaska, USDA Rural Development, U.S. Forest Service, local Sitka contractors), The Nature Conservancy, UA Cooperative Extension, Sustainable Northwest, USFS PNW Wood Products Lab, JEDC Small Mills Working Group.
Other Funding: $0
Narrative Description: The Sustainable Timber Program project seeks to ensure that Tongass old growth habitat biodiversity and ecosystem functions are maintained into the future by implementing a sustainable model for timber harvest and utilization in the Sitka Ranger District. Through the activities associated with this project we seek to build community engagement and empowerment in collaborative natural resource planning; build community capacity to achieve successful economic development through sustainable resource utilization; build and maintain a skilled and educated local workforce; and advance the USDA Transition Strategy by modeling new, non-industrial ways to achieve balanced economic development in communities throughout the region.