Knowra Tongass National Forest Tongass National Forest Tongass National Forest is a vast national forest in southeastern Alaska, encompassing temperate rainforest, glaciers, mountains, islands, and coastal waters. It is the largest national forest in the United States.
Temperate rainforest : A forest biome with mild temperatures and abundant precipitation, dominated by trees that remain leafy or evergreen year-round. Tongass is one of the world’s largest intact temperate rainforests.
Salmon : Anadromous fishes that hatch in freshwater, migrate to the ocean, and return to freshwater to spawn. Their spawning runs move marine nutrients into Tongass streams and forests.
Tongass timber industry : The logging and wood-products sector operating in and around Tongass National Forest. Commercial timber harvest has been a major source of jobs and political conflict.
Theodore Roosevelt : The 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909, known for expanding federal conservation. Roosevelt established the Tongass as a forest reserve in 1907.
Carbon sink : A natural or artificial system that absorbs more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases. Tongass forests store substantial carbon in trees and soils.
Southeast Alaska : The panhandle region of Alaska, extending along the Pacific coast beside British Columbia. The forest occupies much of this archipelago and coastal region.
Salmon stream : A freshwater stream used by salmon for migration, spawning, or rearing. These streams connect the forest’s watersheds to its most influential fish runs.
Old-growth forest : A forest with long-established trees and ecological structures that develop over extended periods without major disturbance. Tongass old growth provides complex habitat and has been targeted for logging.
Tongass National Forest establishment : The creation of Tongass National Forest as a federal forest reserve in 1907 and its later designation as a national forest. The 1907 reserve order began federal protection of the region’s forests.
Climate change in Alaska : Observed and projected changes in Alaska’s climate, including warming, altered precipitation, and shrinking glaciers. Warming changes forest conditions, glaciers, streams, and coastal ecosystems.
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