|
|
Welcome to Sitka Conservation Society Web Site
 Sitka Conservation Society (SCS) has been working to protect the temperate rainforest of southeast Alaska and Sitka's quality of life since 1967. We are based in the small coastal town of Sitka, Alaska, located on the west coast of Baranof Island in the heart of the Tongass National Forest.
The Tongass National Forest, at 17 million acres, is the largest national forest in the U.S.and the largest remaining temperate rainforest in the world. The Tongass, which comprises almost all of Southeast Alaska, is managed by the U.S. Forest Service, but it is owned by all U.S.citizens. View map of the Tongass.
We have the dual goals of protecting the Coastal Temperate Rainforests of Southeast Alaska and developing economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable communities living within the Tongass National Forest. Our tools include traditional grassroots advocacy, innovative collaborative partnerships, educating the next generation of conservation leaders, and well-honed defensive techniques.
Please browse through the Program Menu to learn about our work, and browse the Organization Menu to learn more about us and the places we love.
|
SCS Introduces Five Interns for the Summer of 2010 |
|
Click the links below to visit the interns' blogs.
SCS is sponsoring five summer internships, each centered on a unique aspect of SCS's work, wilderness stewardship, salmon sustainability, management of the Tongass, renewable energy and Kruzof Island, the jewel of the Tongass. Click on the links below to visit the interns' blogs and find out more about the work they are doing. Sign up for email updates and follow the blogs. There are opportunities to meet the interns and get involved with their important work.
 Molly Andrews, Salmon in Sitka Project Intern. "Join me as I spend the summer exploring community, economic and environmental sustainability through the eye of Salmon in Sitka."
 Kelsey Skaggs, Alaska Conservation Foundation Intern, Kelsey on Kruzof. "I will spend this summer exploring the Jewel of the Tongass! Check out my blog for stories of the Alaskans who work, play and have adventures on Kruzof Island."
 Lindsey Schiller, Energy and Sustainability Intern. "This summer I'll explore what it means to power a city completely from renewable resources. Check out my blog for Sitka's story of Energy and Sustainability."
 Zia Brucaya, Sitka Conservation Society Federal Transition Policy Intern. "This summer I will be exploring what the Transition Framework means for Sikta and the Tongass. Check out my blog for local interviews, project highlights, and other on-the-ground updates!"
Adam Andis, Wilderness Stewardship Intern. “Wilderness is, in a sense, the purest of American ideals. Wilderness is a form of freedom, a great equalizer, and an avenue for rejuvenation. It is also an area relatively insulated from modern life, and as such, can act as a barometer of change in ecosystems and the climate over time. This summer, Sitka Conservation Society in partnership with the Forest Service and with support from the National Forest Foundation, is recruiting community member to record baseline scientific and solitude monitoring data in effort to track changes in wilderness over time and ultimately to protect the wilds forever!”
Join our email list to follow the blogs.
|
|
|
Collaborative Stewardship |
|
Transition of the Tongass The new vision for Tongass Forest Management
Alaska Regional Forester Beth Pendleton recently outlined a new vision for the Tongass National Forest that focuses "on a broader suite of opportunities the Tongass can provide to support a diversified economy in Southeast Alaska” by providing jobs in “renewable energy, forest restoration, timber, tourism, subsistence, and fisheries and mariculture”. Promoting community collaborative efforts and stewardship contracting are a key part of this vision.
This policy and management transition can bring more funding and capacity to local Forest Service projects that affect our communities. The Peril Strait Landscape Opportunities Project is a community collaboration that acts on this vision, so that Sitka and outlying communities can actively pursue these opportunities! The Sitka Conservation Society, USFS Sitka Ranger District, and community partners recently convened a public meeting to gather input for the upcoming project in Peril Strait. To learn more, and add your comments, follow this link Sitka Collaborative Stewardship
|
|
Stewardship and Groundtruthing briefing sheets |
|
The Sitka Conservation Society has long advocated for environmental, social, and economic health and vitality for our community and its surrounding public lands. The Groundtruthing and Community Stewardship Projects are key components to help us achieve these goals. The following link provides reports and background material on many of our current projects. Community Stewardship and Groundtruthing Reports
|
|
Wilderness Stewardship Project |
|
The Sitka Community Wilderness Stewardship project brings together people and wilderness in an original and exciting way. Funded by the National Forest Foundation and the Sitka Conservation Societys Living Wilderness Fund, this project creates a working partnership between the USFS Sitka Ranger District, the Sitka Conservation Society, and a broad spectrum of community members to conduct scientific research expeditions and community monitoring in the two Wilderness Areas surrounding Sitka. By kayaks, float planes, skiffs and on foot, volunteer Sitka residents and Wilderness Rangers are exploring some of the most wild and remote places in Southeast Alaska this summer. Working together for the common goal of stewardship, they are experiencing wildness first hand and gathering needed baseline data about these significant areas.
|
|
SCS works with diverse partners in restoration |
|
 One of the Sitka Conservation Societys strategic goals is to shape a policy for 2nd growth management on the Tongass and assure that restoration of wildlife habitat is a funded priority. Recently, we held a workshop in Sitka that brought together diverse user groups from the Tongass with Forest Service staff to think about how we can work together to achieve mutual goals. Some of the participants in the workshop included a recreational user group of the Tongass, Sitka Tribal Council members, City of Sitka Assembly Members, representatives from State legislative offices, loggers, fishermen, and representatives of the local Economic Development Board.
|
|
|
|
