The Hoonah Native Forest Partnership crew run by Hoonah Indian Association have completed a 92 acre thinning project on U.S. Forest Service lands south of False Bay near Wukuklook creek. The final result will help create better deer habitat in areas that were harvested for timber. The three units are in the map below showing the east side of Chichagof Island south of False Bay.
What Happened
Local workforce completed habitat thinning for deer. This is needed in harvested forests where trees grow back very thick. The sun cannot get through the forest canopy and you lose food for deer. In areas like this, crews use chain saws to cut small trees down and then cut them up. This gets more light to the forest floor and makes it so deer can still walk around. More light to the floor grows good food for deer like goldthread, brambles, blueberries and more. The picture below is an example of this work completed by the Hoonah Native Forest Partnership crew
We also helped maintain the road to Wukuklook and False Bay which is important to local and commercial users. The road experienced a few rockfalls and we completed road openings with a local contractor who broke up the rocks and moved them off the road.
Why It Matters
Work like this is a good example of local stewardship and using local crews to complete work like this is a key part of the Hoonah Native Forest Partnership. We were able to meet a community priority of improving deer habitat and keep local people employed doing it. Thank you to the U.S. Forest Service for working with Hoonah Indian Association through a Good Neighbor Authority Agreement and to Neal Schoenfelder with Hoonah Ranger District for his support and guidance on the work!
Be the first to comment