Forest Management
Alaska SWCD Forestry
About 100 members of the forest
management community and property owners
in Southeast Alaska are working together
to implement the Healthy Forest
Restoration Act and support related
efforts to revitalize the timber
industry with special emphasis on
conserving and developing the natural
resources. Management standards will
help provide for sustained production of
the economic timber to the industry.
Partners include Southeast Conference,
Alaska Forest Association and various
Alaska Native corporations.
Anchorage SWCD Wildfire Fuel
Reduction
Since 1999, the Anchorage District has been active in dealing with the wildfire threat to Anchorage. Through the years, the District has accomplished a very successful public education campaign and done on-the-ground projects. The district currently operates the Anchorage Woodlot, available free to residents. With an average of 7,900 trips to the woodlot per year, at the close of the 2007 season, the District was responsible for over 7,000 acres being treated. The Anchorage District has also perfected the process of creating wood, ASTM- certified playground cover.
Homer Demonstration
Forest/Community Forestry
Homer SWCD manages the Homer
Demonstration Forest, a heavily used
recreational and educational destination
for local residence and visitors to the
area. Trails are used for recreational
and competitive skiing, as well as
walking and hiking. Educational signage
helps the forest attract visits by
teachers with their students. In 2006,
Homer SWCD constructed more than 1,000
feet of boardwalk trail to upgrade the
central loop. The District also drafted
an updated version of the HDF Management
Plan.
Firewise
Salcha-Delta SWCD works with the
local volunteer fire department, using
GIS technology to map sire hazards for
the Firewise Program. Fairbanks SWCD
provides assessments to homeowners and
private landowners about fire safety of
their landscaping and woodlots though a
project with DNR.
Woodland Walks
Fairbanks SWCD's natural resources
technician provides assessments of
woodlots and makes recommendations for
improvements for cooperators and other
private landowners in this ongoing
program.
Youth Corps Forest Projects
The Youth Corps programs conducted by
Upper Susitna and Kenny Lake SWCDs and
the intern program in Wasilla SWCD
included forestry work by the young
workers. USSWCD workers planted new
species, cleared weeds around young
trees, updated an existing map and
provided other labor in USSWCD's
Experimental Tree Farm.
In Kenny Lake, teen workers thinned
the mixed spruce/popular forest at the
Kenny Lake fairgrounds to promote
forestry health.