Tongass National Forest

Ecological Section and Subsection information was developed after the 1997 Forest Plan, as part of the National hierarchy of ecological units. Most recent information can be found in the publication Ecological Subsections of Southeast Alaska and Neighboring Areas of Canada (Nowacki, et al 2001). This information is now available, including in GIS format, for analyses at the appropriate scales and applications.

Ecological subsections have been integrated into various resource projects in Alaska. They served as the basis for the development of 5th order hydrologic units for the Tongass. Also, they formed the foundation for the Montreal Process Criteria and Indicator pilot test on the Tongass. The recent Tongass Forest Plan SEIS (2003) incorporated ecological subsections across the Tongass to assess ecological representation in various land use categories. A project has been authorized as part of the SEIS closeout to transition from the Visual Management System to the new Scenery Management System which will be based on ecological subsection information and classification. The scale of the ecological subsections is often larger than the scale of a given project. Ecological subsections may be more appropriately applied as a quantitative and descriptive basis on which to frame an analysis, rather than as an analytical tool for project analyses.

The Forest Supervisor issued a letter during FY 03 to all employees to take advantage of and to incorporate the ecological subsection information and tools. A training package needs to be developed that targets all resource groups and that emphasizes relationships to national protocols for data collection use and storage (NRIS) and how best this could be used at the landscape and/or project level. Training should also promote consistency of collection, use and storage across the Tongass. Incorporate as appropriate in the Forest Plan Refresher Training.

• Forest Ecologist
• Forest Planner
• GIS Analyst

• Develop and deliver a training package.
• The package needs to include tools (templates, GIS covers) and address adjustments in policy (Handbooks).
• Include results of this effort in the Forest Plan Refresher training.