2012 annual report calendar

2013 Calendar

The Sitka Conservation Society

2012 Annual Report

Between our work on renewable energy, our fish to schools program, our educational programing, our traditional environmental advocacy work and more, it’s fair to say the Sitka Conservation Society had more personal contact with a larger cross-section of the Sitka community this year than ever before. We are a leader on many fronts in the communi-ty and are driving policies that will not only protect the Tongass Nation-al Forest but make Sitka economically and environmentally sustainable.

To share our many accomplishments from the last year, we decided to again create a calendar featuring pictures we took while doing field work in the Sitka Community Use Area – the lands and waters that are most depended upon by the people of Sitka. The places pictured in this calendar are places we are working to protect, both through political advocacy and on-the-ground research, restoration, and monitoring. We are lucky to live in such a wild and beautiful place, and through our ef-forts we know Sitka can remain economically vital without compromis-ing the surrounding natural environment.

Our efforts, which will be discussed in detail in the pages of this calen-dar, include

• Managing the Tongass for salmon though watershed restora-tion projects with the U.S. Forest Service; education projects in the schools, including our Fish to Schools program; and advocacy to improve management policy for salmon ecosystems.

• Wilderness Stewardship through summer field research and ground-truthing in Tongass Wilderness Areas and our work build-ing a Living Wilderness Fund to guarantee continued advocacy for Wilderness in perpetuity.

• Community Sustainability through efforts to promote energy ef-ficiency and renewable energy; increase the amount of food grown locally; demonstrate ways Tongass wood can be used locally; and otherwise move our community into a new 21st Century paradigm.

• Tongass Advocacy to influence policy and legislative action on public lands including stopping the passage of the Sealaska Lands Privatization Bill, preventing pending timber sales, and defending against privatization of public lands like Redoubt Falls.

We hope you will enjoy the calendar and that when you turn to it throughout the year you are reminded of the Sitka Conservation Soci-ety’s work and the amazing place we are working to protect.

Founded in 1967, SCS is the oldest community environmental organiza-tion in Alaska. We have many great past accomplishments, but recog-nize there will always be new threats and new challenges on the Ton-gass. It is critical that we continue our conservation efforts, so future generations will know the places we love. Our work would not be possible without the support of people and organizations who share our vision. We thank you for your support in 2012.

Sincerely,

Andrew Thoms, Executive Director

Dear Friends,Contents

A Letter from the Director 1Financial Information 2A Renewable Energy-Powered Community 4Creating a More Sustainable Food System 6Defending our Temperate Rainforest Home 8Inspiring a New Generation of Scientists 10Enlisting the Community in Wilderness Stewardship 12Passing Along Traditional Values 14Sitka Community Use Area Poster 15Living with the Land and Building Community 18 Restoring Salmon Habitat on the Tongass 20Protecting the Intact Watersheds of the Tongass 22Local Actions with Widespread Effects 24Transitioning the Tongass 26Honoring our Founders, Thinking of Generations to Come 28The Sitka Conservation Society is... 29

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Tele AadsenAnonymousPeter BrabeckGale Johnstone Brownell and

Phil BrownellMark Cochran and Paula

WisnessWilliam E. and Nancy Y. DavisJerry DeppaRobert (Bob) G. EllisBrock EvansBob FedoroffPeggy FedoroffRick FleischmanKenyon FieldsLexi Fish and Adam HackettSteve Fish and Kari JohnsonMichelle Friedman and Roland

WirthAnonymousKathy Gosliner and Joe LurieMark and Phyllis HackettAlice and Joel HansonRonald and Jane HarrisJudy and Duane HaysBill and Helen Hodgson

Auriella Hughes and Fred Knowles

Bob and Kim HunterLaura Jacobsen and Paul

BuxtonTom Jacobsen, DDSKevin and Karen JohnsonChuck and Alice JohnstoneJim Kyle, Southeast Alaska

Seine FleetKitty LaBountyMarcel and Connie LaPerriereMichael and Klaudia LecceseAndrew MillerDoug and Jamie OsborneJack and Judith OzmentTonya and Paul RiouxLisa Sadlier Hart and Tom HartLee SchmidtAnonymousAnonymousJulia Smith and Dave NuetzelAnonymousBrita and Eric SpeckBert StromquistFloyd Tomkins and Connie

KreissAndrew Thoms and Maite

Lorente

Alaska Conservation FoundationAmy Gulick PhotographyAnderson Land PlanningAquaterra RestorationAudubon AlaskaChampion FoundationCommon StreamEster G Sea TaxiGallant Girl adventuresGeorge H and Jane A. Mifflin Memorial FundGordon and Betty Moore FoundationHarder FoundationHelen M. Drury TrustJesuit Volunteer Corps NorthwestKnox CollegeThe Leighty FoundationLudvig’s BistroMargaret A. Cargill FoundationNational Forest FoundationThe Nature Conservancy AlaskaPatagoniaReuben E. Crossett FundSeamartSecure Rural Schools Act Tier IISkaggs FoundationSoutheast Alaska Conservation CouncilSoutheast Alaska Native Health ConsortiumStanford UniversityState of Alaska Sustainable Salmon Fund

The Sitka Conservation Society would like to thank the following individuals whose con-tributions have been especially supportive:

CasinoDryasEquityIllaheeJuandererKarielMerlinMinke

MiracleMorganNorFjordRadioRose-LynnRustySuuntaUlla

State of Alaska Farm to Schools ProgramSustainable NorthwestTraining Resources for the Environmental

Community (TREC)Trout Unlimited AlaskaTrue NorthTurner Foundation Inc.USDA Forest ServiceWeeden FoundationWilburforceWhite’s Inc.Yale University

The work of SCS would not be possible without the generous support of the following foundations and partner organizations:

We would also like to say thank you to the following fishing vessels for their do-nations to the Fish to Schools program:

If we missed you on this list, we are very sorry. Please let us know so that we can correct our records.2

Income$ 546,219.37

Expense$ 472,524.30

Grants (91%)

IndividualContributions (2%)

Fundraising, Special Events, Retail Sales and

Interest (7%)

Conservation Programs (93%)

Office Rent and Expenses (6%)

Fundraising (1%)

These figures are for all organizational programs from the 1st quarter through the 3rd quarter 2012

Sitka is always beautiful, but it is rarely more serene than at twilight on a clear winter night with fresh snow on the peaks of Sisters, as seen here. Clean hydroelectric power fuels Sitka’s street lights and heats its homes on even the crispest of winter nights. © Adam Andis

New Year’s DayAlaska Statehood

Declared 1959

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Protecting the natural environment of the Tongass while supporting the development of sustainable communities in Southeast Alaska

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

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A Renewable Energy-Powered Community: Sitka’s

Post Petroleum ChallengeIn early 2012, record low water levels in the Blue and Green Lake reservoirs forced the City of Sitka to supplement its hydroelectric power with diesel generators. It was a reminder that Sitka is lucky to have clean, salmon-friendly hydro, but also that our energy needs are beginning to exceed what our hydroelectric dams can provide and it is es-sential that we find new energy sources beyond fossil fuels.

The Sitka Conservation Society recognizes that protecting and preserving the Sitka Community Use Area of the Tongass National Forest isn’t just about advocating for the wise use of the forest. It is also critical that the communities that depend on the Tongass adopt policies that contribute to a healthy forest and take a global lead to counter climate change.

SCS has been increasing its efforts to promote salmon-friend hydroelectric energy as well as measures local individuals and families can take to reduce their carbon footprints. We also have worked to guide local policy and investment through efforts such as the creation of an exten-sive report on Sitka’s energy needs for the next 30 years.

Our work has benefited from partnerships with organizations including the City of Sitka and Southeast Alaska Career Center, which joined us in an Energize! Sitka program that provided train-ings to trade professionals on weatherization and home retrofits. Our relationship with our local utility department has grown to the point that we have shared staff, including an AmeriCorps vol-unteer who led a public education campaign on energy conservation.

As we continue our work in Sitka, we are optimistic that we will be the vanguard for other com-munities and organizations. We believe that as Sitka takes progressive steps on climate change, it will drive policy else-where. If Sitka can overcome the challenges of its small size and isolation, we can make the same achievements on a much larger scale.

January

The Future of Energy in SitkaSitka is using more energy than ever, and projections show community energy use to increase significantly in the coming decade. With that in mind, in the spring of 2012, SCS undertook a community-wide review of energy use and researched strategies and approaches that may produce dollar and energy savings, reduce demand, decrease emission and create a balance for the long-term sustainability of the community. The result was a 23-page “Future of Energy” report containing projections and recom-mendations that city leaders can use to guide policy in the coming decade. Few communities have taken such a look at long-range energy budgets, and we see the work as moving beyond idealism to pragmatism as we move to a renewable energy future. A downloadable version of the report can be found at www.sitkawild.org.

Photos, this page (top to bottom): The St. Michael’s cross in front of the Sisters © A. Andis; Orca whales in Sitka Sound © Bethany Goodrich; Northern lights above Baranof Island © Matt Dolkas; Sitka at night © Berett Wilber.

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A young brown bear rests in high grass near the shore at Red Bluff Bay in the South Baranof Wilderness Area. With vibrant salmon runs and intact forest ecosystems, Wilderness designation on Southern Baranof Island provides premiere brown bear habitat and home to an average of about one bear per square mile. © Adam Andis

Groundhog Day

Mardi Gras Valentine’s Day

President’s Day

St. Lazaria Wildlife Refuge est. 1909



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Creating a More SustainableFood System

It hasn’t taken long for the Sitka Conservation So-ciety’s Fish to Schools program to make an impact locally and earn recognition on the state and na-tional level. In 2012, the program’s first full school year, Fish to Schools was named the best farm-to-school program in Alaska and got a visit from Alas-ka first lady Sandy Parnell. The program also was singled out as “innovative” in a national media piece. And, most importantly, it saw a two-fold increase in the number of students choosing fish lunches when offered over the course of the year.

The Sitka Community Use Area of the Tongass Na-tional Forest produces some of the healthiest wild salmon runs in the world. As a community, we take pride in our fishermen and our fishing cul-ture, yet, until last year, locally caught fish was never a menu option in Sitka’s schools.

With the help of fishermen, processors and school food service, Fish to Schools made locally caught fish a menu option twice a month in two Sitka School District Schools. The program caught the eye of students at Sitka’s alternative high school, Pacific High, and the state-run Mt. Edgecumbe High School, and both of those schools also had meals of local fish by the end of the year.

Aside from serving local seafood, Fish to Schools has taught students about the path a fish takes from the ocean to the dinner plate with a “Stream to Plate” curriculum. In the program, fishermen lead students in hands-on demonstrations about fishing, students tour a processing plant, and stu-dents get lessons on traditional food preparation.

While we are excited by Fish to Schools’ success, the pro-gram is still growing. We expect to see even more local fish on plates in Sitka schools in coming years, and expect our program to shape local foods policy throughout Alaska and be-yond.

Fish to Schools at Mount Edgecumbe High School

Most students at Mt. Edgecumbe High School, the state-run boarding school in Sitka, come from remote villages where eating local fish is a way of life. That said, it’s understanda-ble that MEHS students would be a little jealous when they heard about the Fish to Schools program in Sitka School District schools. This spring MEHS students contacted SCS seeking help to organize a meal of locally caught fish at their school. Rock fish tacos were served in late April, with overwhelming approval from MEHS students who now want to see local fish served on a regular basis.

FebruaryPhotos, this page (top to bottom): Fog in the trees in Hoonah Sound © Andrew Thoms; Baranof skyline at sunset ©

Andrew Thoms; Sitka black-tail buck © Berett Wilber; Grace Gjertsen enjoying a local fish lunch © Tracy Gagnon.

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The east side of Baranof Island is sometimes called “The Water Fall Coast,” and with good reason. The above pictured falls, found in Red Bluff Bay in the South Baranof Wilderness Area, are among the most spectacular falls on east Baranof Island. Designated Wilderness Areas on the Tongass cre-ate an opportunity to experience nature on its own terms and marvel at the planet’s natural wonders. © Adam Andis

Daylight Savings Begins

St. Patrick’s DayFirst Day of

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Redoubt Falls Under ThreatSubsistence sockeye fishing is a part of life in Alaska, and, in Sitka, subsistence sockeye fishing is synonymous with Redoubt Falls. Unfortunately, the future of the public fishery at Redoubt is in question because of a land claim by Sealaska Corporation, which argues the property qualifies

as a historic site under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. SCS believes the Redoubt site fails to meet the requirements of ANCSA and a conveyance would set a dangerous precedent allow-ing Native Corporations to bend the laws in their favor to take pos-session of the most valuable parcels in Alaska. We will challenge a conveyance if necessary, but for now we are pushing for this site to remain in public ownership under the management of the U.S. Forest Service.

The Sitka Conservation Society has always been a zealous advocate for public lands conservation. Thanks to our founders, many places we treasure today – including the West Chichagof-Yakobi Wil-derness Area – were spared during the heyday of industrial logging on the Tongass National Forest.

While the Tongass should never again see logging on the scale of that done in the 1960s and 70s, there will always be threats. For one, despite a commitment to transition away from large-scale timber, the Forest Service’s annual timber budget for the Tongass remains in excess of $22 million. Meanwhile, the Sealaska Corporation continues its efforts to increase its landholdings by privatiz-ing public lands, including some of the most pre-cious places in the Sitka Community Use Area.

In the last year, SCS has organized opposition to a long-standing Sealaska claim at Redoubt Falls, the closest subsistence sockeye stream to Sitka, and we have argued for greater transparency regard-ing the conveyance of land in the South Baranof Wilderness Area at Jamboree Bay. Additionally, we have allied with diverse user groups in voicing opposition to the pending federal Sealaska Lands Bill and engaging in the legislative process to safe-guard lands we depend upon.

Sealaska Corporation seeks lands outside those in areas stipulated under the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, and the Lands Bill is its ve-hicle to obtain 80,000 such acres on the Tongass. Proposed selections are amongst the most valu-able on the Tongass and were targeted because of the high-value (old growth) timber they contain.

Multiple versions of the Bill have been introduced in Congress since 2006, and SCS has opposed them all as written. At the time of this writing, the Bill has yet to be approved, but it isn’t going away, and SCS will continue to get the public’s voice heard just as we have done to counter major threats to the Tongass for 45 years.

Defending our Temperate Rainforest Home March

Photos, this page (top to bottom): Bright red flesh of a sockeye salmon; Sitkans dipnet at Redoubt Falls; The Redoubt weir; Filleting the day’s catch; Smiling faces over subsistence sockeye; Sockeye and pink salmon school at Redoubt

Falls; all photos this page © Bethany Goodrich.

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Seen from the air, mountain goats forage in the high alpine of the South Baranof Wilderness Area. The rugged ridges and glacially carved peaks of Baranof Island provide perfect habitat for a population of about 1,300 mountain goats. Over the past two years, SCS has partnered with the Forest Service to trace goat foraging habits. © Adam Andis

April Fool’s Day

Earth Day



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Inspiring a New Generation of Scientists and Resource Managers

In the first year of a new Sitka High School inde-pendent study course, SHS seniors worked with scientists and land managers to collect data on fish populations in Sitka’s Swan Lake, deer forag-ing habits in the Starrigavan Valley, and the effects of forest management activities on soil microbial health.

The Sitka Conservation Society helped develop the class in which students are placed with mentors from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Forest Service and University of Alaska Southeast. The intent is to make the class an annual offering at SHS that gives students a chance to get hands-on experiences with local professionals.

SCS has been working with the Sitka schools for years but until recently the engagement was usu-ally short-term. A couple of years ago, SCS helped facilitate a partnership between the Forest Service and the SHS field science class in which students collected and analyzed data over the course of a semester for an ongoing restoration project. That partnership opened the door for the more inten-sive mentoring program.

Like our other education work, we see the inde-pendent study class as a way to increase com-munity engagement and raise awareness about the ways we interact with the environment in the Sitka Community Use Area. Our idea was to cre-ate a mutually beneficial program, where the stu-dents could get experience doing science in the field while the mentors would get a hand with a project they otherwise might not have time for.

The students are required to have taken upper-level math and science classes at SHS, and they generally have an interest in pursuing a science degree in college. The class gives them a better understanding of the work scien-tists and resource managers do in Sit-ka, which we hope will inspire them to return to Sitka as professionals and take on roles that will be vital to fu-ture health of the Tongass.

Justine Webb: Future Scientist in Action

As a Sitka High School senior enrolled in an independent study mentorship class this spring, Justine Webb ran tests on microbial DNA extracted from soil samples gathered in the Starrigavan Valley. The work – which was part of a larger project evaluating the effects of clear-cut logging and other forest management practices on soil microbial health – was exactly the type SCS had in mind when it helped de-velop the mentoring program. Justine got a better idea of what it’s like to be a sci-entist studying the Tongass, and learned practical skills in the process. While she was graded for her work, Justine noted that she wasn’t motivated by grades when she carefully worked through her calculations, but rather that her results be completely accurate for the sake of the study.

AprilPhotos, this page (top to bottom): Low clouds shade the Southeast shoreline © A. Andis; Columbine blossom © Paul Killian; A Bluet damselfly perches on a log © Paul Killian; Scott Harris, SCS Watershed Coordinator, teaches a class how to monitor

deer exclosures © Scott Harris; Long-toed salamander © A. Andis; Volunteer mentor and student collect sample data © Scott Harris; Justine Webb collects field data for her science mentor project © Scott Harris.

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Humpback whales bubble-net feeding like these are a far more frequent sight in the waters near Sitka than they were even twenty years ago. Thanks to federal protections, humpback whale numbers in Southeast Alaska have increased at an annual rate of 5 to 7 percent in the last decade. © Dan Kiely

Mother’s Day

Memorial DayAlaska Purchase

1867



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Enlisting the Community in Wilderness Stewardship

In 2009, the Sitka Conservation Society launched the Sitka Community Wilderness Stewardship Project in which SCS, the Forest Service, and com-munity volunteers partner to conduct scientific research and monitoring of Wilderness Areas in the Sitka Community Use Area. Four years later, the project is going strong with volumes of new baseline data collected that will serve as a barom-eter for changes we face in the 21st Century.

The goals of the project are to better understand the natural dynamics of the Wilderness and hu-man use so we can better ensure that future gen-erations will benefit from the same pristine Wil-derness as was designated by Congress. By calling on community volunteers – including hunters, commercial fishermen, guides, and recreationists – to track their observations, we can obtain far more data than if SCS and the Forest Service were working alone. For its part, SCS has done summer ground-truthing work at about 40 remote sites and collected well over 3,000 hours of field ob-servations.

SCS was founded with an objective of protecting parts of the Tongass National Forest as Congres-sionally Designated Wilderness forever. Although we have succeeded in increasing the amount of protected Wilderness on the Tongass, Wilderness Areas will always be vulnerable to threats like cli-mate change, overuse, and invasive species, so there is a serious need to monitor these places.

Looking to the future, SCS sees the need for more ecologically important Tongass lands – particular-ly the remaining intact watersheds – to be perma-nently protected. We also plan to con-tinue stewardship work and eventually return to places we surveyed recently to track changes over time. Finally, SCS will be working with communities and organizations in other parts of the Tongass to build Wilderness steward-ship projects of their own. Although SCS focuses primarily on the Sitka Community Use Area, the Tongass is an interconnected ecosystem and Sitka-area Wildernesses benefit from a healthy forest overall.

Stewards of the StikineBuilding on our success with community wilderness stewardship in the Sitka Community Use Area, SCS spent a week in the summer of 2012 with Wrangell-area Boy Scouts on a stewardship project in Stikine-LeConte Wilderness. The biggest challenge for the project was laying the ground work – which took

months of coordinating with volunteers in Wrangell – but the effort was entire-ly worthwhile, as Wrangell volunteers are now ready and inspired to continue the project on their own. The project, of course, also was worthwhile in that

it resulted in the elimination of invasive plants, and, perhaps more importantly, instilled a message about the value of Wilderness and the need for stewardship in a new generation of Boy Scouts.

MayPhotos, this page (top to bottom): Miniature dogwood blossom in the forest understory © Matt Dolkas; A Boy Scout finds a boreal toad while treating invasive plants © Matt Dolkas; A Scout takes a break after a long day © Matt Dol-

kas; Sundew flytrap © Paul Killian; Troop #40 prepares to tackle a new patch of weeds © Matt Dolkas.

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As many as 7,000 nesting seabirds per acre can be found during peak summer months on St. Lazaria Island, A National Wildlife Refuge and des-ignated Wilderness Area. This long-exposure photo was taken at twilight as birds returned to their nests. A flickering strobe light made the birds appear almost ghost like against the lights of Sitka in the distance. © Matt Dolkas

Father’s Day

First Day of SummerSitka Natl Historic

Park est. 1890



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Passing Along Traditions and Values

For thousands of years after the first people pad-dled along the coast of what is now the Tongass, sharing stories around a fire was the principal way knowledge and ideas were passed between gen-erations. Today, one of our greatest pleasures re-mains sharing stories with friends around a camp-fire. However, with our modern technology, we now have ways to tell stories that reach a much larger audience.

The Sitka Conservation Society believes there is power in stories to build community and inspire social change, and we believe there is great po-tential in the stories of our connectedness to the environment in Sitka. For this reason, we have be-gun collecting and sharing stories about the ways people rely on the lands and waters of the Sitka Community Use Area. The stories, including short films, essays, interviews and hundreds of photos, are featured on the SCS website, online video sites, blogs and social networking sites.

In 2012, SCS brought on a set of summer media staff that each had a distinct specialty in telling sto-ries. They tagged along with locals as they worked and played in the Sitka Community Use Area, and they turned the experiences into stories that con-nected ideals with practices. The stories include photo essays about such extraordinary places as St. Lazaria Island, Sea Lion Cove and Redoubt Falls; first-hand accounts of gathering seaweed, canning salmon, hunting and fishing; profiles on people making a living from the land by running a salmon hatchery and building homes with local materials; and short films on salmon habitat res-toration, orcas and Sitka Sound.

As people see and read our stories, we encour-age them to share them with others. That way our ideals and values will reach beyond the circle of our campfire and create a spark that will help change the way we live with the environment.

A Subsistence Gillnet StoryOne story we collected this summer for our “Living with the Land and Building Community” blog focused on a subsistence gillnetting trip to Sitkoh Bay. In theory, gillnetting – in which a 300-foot net is used to catch fish by the gill – can quickly result in a substantial catch to share with family, neigh-

bors and elders. As the story tells, gillnetting is not a free lunch. For the first-time gillnetters, the trip was still a great experience in living with

the land, and it produced a great story about our unique way of life in Sitka. To read the story and others like it, please visit www.sitkawild.org.

JunePhotos, this page (top to bottom): Fern frond © Paul Killian; St. Lazaria Wilderness Area © Matt Dolkas; Sitkoh River restoration project (see video on

sitkawild.org) © Matt Dolkas; Local Sitkan proudly displays his product after helping with a canned salmon photo-essay © Matt Dolkas; Media interns hike to Mt. Edgecumbe with a local guide © A. Andis; Media interns and Sitkan Alexis Will perform bird research at night. © Matt Dolkas; Media

interns scan the horizon on their first hunting trip © Berett Wilber; Media Intern Natalia pulls a fish out of a gillnet © Matt Dolkas.

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Fireweed like this is a much appreciated sight in the fleeting Southeast Alaska summer. Not only is fireweed a beautiful plant, but it is edible. The stems can be eaten raw, while the nectar, which has a distinctive spiced flavor, is sometimes used in syrups and jellies. © Adam Andis

Independence Day



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Living with the Land and Building Community

The future of the Tongass depends on the young people of today, particularly those growing up in Sitka and other Southeast Alaska communities. For this reason, the Sitka Conservation Society strives to inspire the conservation leaders of to-morrow with educational programs that provide opportunities to learn from the lands and waters of the Sitka Community Use Area.

We believe that young people who have meaning-ful and pertinent experiences in the outdoors and understand the natural environment of the Ton-gass will have a deeper connection to the place they live and be more likely to adopt conservation values.

One of our proudest educational accomplish-ments in recent years has been the creation of our Alaska Way of Life 4-H Club. Like all 4-H Clubs, our club strives to provide learning, leadership and community. It differs from other clubs, however, in that activities focus on the Tongass, and partici-pants learn skills like food preservation, outdoor survival, traditional crafts, and even hunting and fishing skills.

In the last year we also partnered with local Girl Scout troop 4140 on a months-long “Energy Jour-ney” covering all aspects of our local energy sys-tem. And, in 2012, we worked with Sitka Schools in a variety of programs like the Middle School Stream Team watershed education project. While SCS provides activities and programs for students of all grade levels, our programs reach far beyond the school-aged. Each winter hundreds of people attend our Backwoods and Waters lecture series on the natural history of the Tongass, and, in the summer, our boat trips to eco-logical jewels of the Sitka Communi-ty Use Area are popular with those of all ages.

Our educational programs make a difference in shaping community values, but we believe they also build community. They bring peo-ple together with a shared interest in the beautiful place we call home and promote the knowledge and skills to better live with this place.

Sitka 4-H: Learning the Alaska Way of LifeIn a traditional 4-H program, participants may learn about caring for livestock. In Sitka’s Alaska Way of Life Club, a popular lesson this year focused on the locally relevant skill of how to skin and butcher a deer. In the activity, stu-dents learned about the Tlingit hunting tradition, impor-tant ecological and ethical considerations for hunters, and finally about the various cuts used to butcher the animal without waste. Some participants were apprehensive at first, but by the end of the session they were taking turns with the knife and in doing so building their connection to the Tongass.

JulyPhotos, this page (top to bottom): Salmon scales © Bethany Goodrich; A 4H student proudly displays a carrot harvested from the club’s gar-

den plot © Matt Dolkas; A gaggle of young gals tend to the 4-H club garden © Matt Dolkas; The 4-H club learned to identify edible mush-rooms like these chantrelles © Andrew Thoms; 4-H club members get hands on experience dressing a deer, both photos © Tracy Gagnon.

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Tootsie, a Northern Saw-whet Owl, is a resident at the Alaska Raptor Center in Sitka. The temperate rainforests of the Tongass are home to majestic birds of prey including the Queen Charlotte Goshawk, Bald Eagles, and many species of owls. © Ben Hamilton



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The Forest Service estimates that 37 percent of salmon-producing watersheds on the Tongass have been negatively impacted by logging and that it will cost $100 million to restore them all. Given that at least one in 10 jobs in Southeast Alaska de-pends on salmon, the Sitka Conservation Society believes investing in watershed restoration is just common sense.

SCS is taking an active role in restoring watersheds of the Sitka Community Use Area by both advocat-ing for the Forest Service to redirect funds from its $22 million annual timber and road building budget to restoration projects and by contribut-ing funding and capacity to restoration projects. In recent years we have partnered with the Forest Service, Trout Unlimited and the Alaska Depart-ment of Fish and Game on projects at Nakwasina, Starrigavan and on the Sitkoh Lake and River. Logging damages watersheds by diverting streams, blocking fish passage, damaging ripar-ian habitat, and eliminating crucial spawning and rearing habitat structures. The idea of restora-tion is to improve fish habitat by removing debris, redirecting streams, stabilizing banks to prevent erosion, and even thinning dense second-growth forest. Ultimately, restoration results in greater salmon returns.

No one understands the need for and benefit of restoration more than commercial fishermen, who have been a critical partner in our advocacy work. In the last year, SCS has organized dozens of Sitka fishermen to write letters to Forest Ser-vice managers on the importance of restoration, and we have inspired a few to travel to Washing-ton D.C. to further make the push for restoration to guarantee the health of Tongass salmon runs and sustain fishing livelihoods.

The Tongass has roughly 5,000 salmon-supported streams, pro-viding spawning habitat for 90 percent of the commercial-caught salmon in Southeast Alaska, or al-most a quarter of Alaska’s overall salmon catch. Although there is no shortage of streams in need of res-toration, we are happy to see the number is slowly going down.

Restoring Salmon Habitat on the Tongass

Sitkoh River RestorationThe first stage of the multi-year Sitkoh River restoration was completed this sum-mer, with 1,800 feet of critical salmon rearing habitat on Chichagof Island being returned to pre-logging conditions. The Sitka Conservation Society was one of four partnering organizations on the project, which required redirecting the stream to its original channel location, adding and modifying structures to create new pools and riffles, and enhancing the banks to prevent future diversions. For stage two, the focus will move farther downstream where, among other things, salmon spawning gravels will be improved with large log structures being added to the riv-er. SCS contributed to the project in the planning and implementation, as well as obtaining a grant from the Alaska Sustainable Salmon Fund. We partnered with Trout Unlimited on the grant, but had the funding directed entirely to the Forest Service to maximize the amount of resources going to habitat improvement.

AugustPhotos, this page (top to bottom): Raindrops collecting on blueberry leaves © A. Andis; A Forest Service employee surveys the

forest canopy © Matt Dolkas; A stream flows through the lush understory to feed the Sitkoh River © Matt Dolkas; A restoration engineer wields the tools of trade © Matt Dolkas; Forest Service employees, SCS volunteers, students, and contractors collabo-

rate to install stream flow checks in the Sitkoh River © Matt Dolkas.

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At over 4,500 feet, Mt. Ada is the highest peak in the South Baranof Wilderness Area. The surrounding snow field is one of the few remaining alpine glaciers on Baranof Island. The island’s ice fields are small, disparate and highly vulnerable to climate change. © Adam Andis

Labor DayWilderness Act

signed 1964

Tongass National Forest est. 1907

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Protecting the Intact Watersheds of the Tongass

When the salmon are running thick in the streams around Sitka, it’s not just because we are blessed with clean water and a healthy ocean ecosystem where the fish can grow. Healthy watersheds – in-cluding the forests and muskegs stretching miles beyond the stream banks – are a critical part of the formula. The Sitka Community Use Area is home to some of the most productive watersheds on the Tongass, which contribute to our vibrant fishing economy and way of life. The Sitka Conservation Society is committed to not only restoring watersheds that have been damaged by past logging practices but also guaranteeing that the remaining intact wa-tersheds are never altered.

The size of a single watershed on the Tongass and the impact of that watershed would probably sur-prise most lifelong Alaskans. For example, the Salmon Lake watershed near Sitka covers almost 7,500 acres and produces over 100,000 pink salm-on annually, yet it is a comparatively small water-shed.

Because of their low elevations and soils rich in nutrients, intact watersheds are a good place to find stands of large old growth forest. For this rea-son, they remain a target for logging operations, which can have devastating impacts on the pro-ductivity of salmon streams. Our ecosystems and our economy are better off with the forests intact, and SCS is committed to keeping them that way.

While we have and will continue to advocate for forest management practices that do not harm intact watersheds, our long-term goal is to see intact watersheds get federal protections that would guarantee their preservation forever from threats that could include not just timber harvests but mining and other development.

About 35 percent of intact wa-tersheds on the Tongass are protected as part of Wilder-ness Areas or through Land Use Designation II status. That is a good start, but it means the majority of streams still lack protections, and we cer-tainly have work ahead.

The Tongass 77: Our Most Important WatershedsLast year, Trout Unlimited released the Tongass 77, a list of what it considered the 77 most important and productive watersheds on the Tongass that are not protected from development at this time. More than a dozen of the water-sheds listed are in the Sitka Community Use Area. All told, Tongass 77 water-

sheds cover over 1.8 million acres, or almost 10 percent of the Tongass. Southeast Alaskans are increasingly asking for federal legislation to give the Tongass 77 permanent protection through Land Use Designation II status. Such protection for the included Sitka area watersheds would put places such as Nakwasina, Redoubt Lake, Sea Lion Cove, and South Kruzof Island off limits to logging and mineral development forever.

SeptemberPhotos, this page (top to bottom): Beach grass © A. Andis; Nest of eggs © Jonathan Goff; Leaping for joy on southern Kruzof Island,

an area SCS is seeking to protect through the T77 campaign © Matt Dolkas; The commercial fishing fleet depends on protected, healthy watersheds to ensure a sustainable future to out fishing industry © A. Andis; The Redoubt Lake watershed, another area tar-geted for protection by the T77 campaign, as seen from the air © Matt Dolkas; A brown bear fishes in Redoubt Fall © Jonathan Goff.

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A bald eagle attempts to snatch one of countless salmon running thick in a Baranof Island stream. It is estimated that over 10,000 breeding pairs of bald eagles live in Southeast Alaska, which represents more than 10 percent of the entire world population of these impressive birds. © Ben Hamil-ton

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Local Actions with Widespread Effects

Although the Sitka Conservation Society is primar-ily a local organization, our impact often extends far beyond the Sitka Community Use Area. We asked leaders in conservation and government from Alaska and beyond to share their impres-sions of the Sitka Conservation Society, below are a few of their responses.

“SCS has been busy improving Sitka’s quality of life. One of the ways it has done this is through its ability to collaborate with stakeholders on impor-tant issues. For example, it has worked with the City on conservation of electricity through a series of brochures and other media, and by providing an intern at the Electric Department that worked on educating the public about energy conserva-tion. Without SCS’s efforts and contributions, this work probably would not have been done.” Mim McConnell, Mayor, City and Borough of Sitka

“From all my experiences with grassroots and na-tional conservation organizations, I have few that have made and continue to make an impact on the level of SCS.” Brock Evans, Retired Vice President for National Issues, National Audubon Society

“I honestly can’t imagine what Sitka would be like without SCS. I won’t allow myself to imagine it, because for me SCS is synonymous with the amaz-ing quality of life here and the absolutely unparal-leled beauty and richness of our environment. I’m just very, very glad SCS is here and that SCS is tak-ing an increasingly important role in setting the course for our community.”

Richard Nelson,Cultural anthropologist, author, radio host, and SCS Board Member

OctoberPhotos, this page (top to bottom): A school of salmon makes its way upriver © Matt Dolkas, Sitka’s Crescent Harbor

© A. Andis; Sitka Sound as seen from Gavan Hill © A. Andis, Lincoln Street in Sitka © Matt Dolkas, Blue sky poking through the clouds above Sitka © Matt Dolkas.

“I can count on the Sitka Conservation Society, year in and year out, to pioneer new conserva-tion strategies and develop creative partnerships that take conservation to a new level. Pound for pound and dollar for dollar, SCS is one of the most effective grassroots conservation organiza-tions in Alaska.” - John Sisk, Senior Policy Representative at the Nature Conservancy

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Pink salmon, also known as humpbacks, are seen underwater in a shallow Baranof Island stream. The Tongass National Forest produces alomst a third of the world’s wild salmon. Pink salmon, which are canned and sold worldwide, are caught in greater numbers than any of the five Pacific salmon species. In some years, the Alaskan commercial catch nears 100 million pinks. © Matt Dolkas

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Transitioning the Tongass

It’s been two years since the Forest Service an-nounced a “transition framework” to shift its timber focus from old growth logging to a more balanced and holistic management paradigm that invests in salmon, tourism, and young growth tim-ber. In this time, the Sitka Conservation Society has been both an advocate for the Forest Service to speed up the transition and a partner with the Forest Service on implementing projects that demonstrate the transition in action.

We recognize that after decades of putting old growth as its top priority for the Tongass, the For-est Service’s switch isn’t without challenges: some Forest Service leadership is ingrained in the old growth, get-out-and-cut tradition, and there are logistical issues like retooling mills for smaller logs and finding new markets for young growth wood.

To help, we have sought examples of how young growth can work. We have partnered with the Forest Service on plans for a preschool that would be built with local young growth wood, and we have highlighted the efforts of builders who are already working with local young growth. We are now partnering with the Sitka School District on a project in which industrial arts students are build-ing furniture and an information kiosk with young growth timber.

In the spring of 2013, we will be developing a best-practices guide for buying local wood. It will compare costs of young growth to imported wood, will detail where and when local wood can be purchased, and will explain properties of local young growth that may be different from conven-tional lumber.

While we are working to find a more sustainable option for timber manage-ment on the Tongass, we are also working to keep the Forest Service on track in its transition. The annual Ton-gass timber budget remains at over $22 million and large-scale old growth timber sales are still in the works.

Second-Growth Success: Starrigavan Cabin

When the Forest Service is looking for examples of successful uses of Tongass second-growth timber, it doesn’t need to look any further than its recreation cabin at Starrigavan Creek near Sitka. In the three years since the cabin was fin-ished, it has become the most popular Forest Service cabin in the entire Tongass, with reservations often needed weeks in advance. The cabin was built by local craftsmen enrolled in a two-week University of Alaska log-building class. The class allowed professional builders the opportunity to get a first-hand oppor-tunity working with second-growth timber, and the chance to contribute to a beautiful lofted building. The cabin may be the nicest on the Tongass, and we have no doubt it will remain the most popular for a long time to come.

NovemberPhotos, this page (top to bottom): Baranof skyline in the clouds © Matt Dolkas; Hikers in South Baranof Wilderness Area © Matt Dolkas; Trollers rely on a healthy Tongass which is managed for salmon as well as limited timber harvests © Berett Wilber; Paddlers enjoy the Sitka Community

Use Area © A. Andis; Recreational activities like camping make a significant impact on the Southeast economy © Bethany Goodrich; A carpenter notches a second growth log during construction of the Starrigavan Cabin © SCS; The finished cabin © Bethany Goodrich.

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A haze settles over the mountains of Baranof Island as the sun sets on a calm summer night. The labyrinth of inlets, channels, bays, and temperate rainforest islands of the Tongass make up a globally unique landscape and one of our planet’s most beautiful places. © Berett Wilber

West Chichagof-Yakobi and South

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Honoring our Founders, Thinking of Generations to Come

The Sitka Conservation Society owes a great debt to our founders, who bravely spoke out against the destructive industrial logging practices of the 1960s and 70s when to do so could make oneself an outcast, at best, in the community. Today we honor our founders – notably Chuck and Alice Johnstone and Jack, Sasha, and Margaret Calvin – as well others who have fought for wild places of the Tongass in a Living Wilderness Memorial and Living Wilderness Endowment Fund.

The Living Wilderness Fund ensures that the voice that gave us the Wilderness Areas we cherish will be heard in the coming generations by guarantee-ing that the resources needed to protect and ad-vocate for the Sitka Community Use Area of the Tongass will always be available. The Living Wil-derness Memorial, a yellow-cedar display in the SCS office, ensures that we will always remember and be inspired by earlier efforts to protect the Tongass. Contributions to the Living Wilderness Fund can be made in honor of a Wilderness advo-cate whose name will be added to the Living Wil-derness Memorial.

A gift to the Living Wilderness Fund differs from other charitable contributions in that the fund is invested. The principal remains untouched and only the interest is used to support an SCS staff position which serves as voice for Wilderness protection and advocacy. If the fund grows large enough, remaining annual interest will be put to-ward Wilderness conservation projects.

A gift to the Living Wilderness Fund lasts in perpe-tuity and can include tax-deductible cash gifts, an-nual giving, bequests, gifts of land, and even gifts of life insurance and investments. A gift to the fund is a gift to future generations, who deserve to enjoy the same Tongass that we have been lucky to inherit from prior generations.

Donations of any size can be made to the Living Wilderness Fund. For more information on the Living Wilderness Fund and Memorial and how to make a contribution, please contact SCS at [email protected].

DecemberPhotos, this page (top to bottom): A waterfall cascades through the forest in South Baranof Wilderness © A. Andis; Octopus in the intertidal zone © A. Andis; Sailboat in Red Bluff Bay, South Baranof Wilderness © Bethany Goodrich;

Cedar Wax-wing © Berett Wilber; Richard Nelson © SCS.

“I have found the most beautiful, most enriching, most exhilarating experiences of my life in the wild country of Southeast Alaska.

For this I feel immensely privileged. The Living Wilderness Fund is my investment in a dream—that children born a

century from now will have the same privilege to experience these places, surrounded by the same silence and blessed by

the same abiding peace.”- Richard Nelson, Living Wilderness Fund Donor

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Marcel LaPerrierreBoard President

Spencer SeversonBoard Vice President

Kitty LaBountyBoard Treasurer

Jack OzmentBoard Secretary

Lexi FishBoard Member

Brendan JonesBoard Member

Richard NelsonBoard Member

Marian AllenBoard Member

Steve FishBoard Member

Andrew ThomsExecutive Director

Clarice Johnson ReidOffice Manager

Scott HarrisWatershed Program

Manager

Adam AndisCommunications

Director

Zia BrucayaConservation Solutions

Coordinator

Courtney BobsinLiving with the Land and

Building Community Jesuit Volunteer

Paul NorwoodCommunity Sustainability

Americorps Intern

Erin FultonTongass Forest

Resident

Ray FreidlanderTongass Forest

Organizer

Community Sustainability

Organizer

TheSitkaConservation Society is:

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Bitty BalducciEnergy Conservation

Americorps Intern

Paul BakerWilderness Intern

Matt DolkasMedia and Storytelling

Intern

Kate DolkasLocal and Regional Asset

Development Intern

Ellen FrankensteinArtChange Consultant

Stacey WoolseySummer Intern

Program Coordinator

Diana SaverinMedia and Storytelling

Intern

Bethany GoodrichMedia and Storytelling

Intern

Jonathan GoffWilderness Botany

Intern

Ben HamiltonPhotographer and

Filmmaker

Andy Miller Writer and Researcher

Ken MerrillBoat Captain

Nic MinkSalmon Education

Coordinator

Helen SchnoesSalmon Tours Intern

Designed by Adam Andis

Thanks to Dan Kiely, Ben Hamilton, and Berett Wilbur for generously al-lowing use of their photo-graphs.

Thanks to Andy Miller for providing his writing and editing skills to this report.

Printing by:

...and all of our volunteers and members like you!

Ashley Bolwerk Environmental Education

Rebecca HimschootFish to Schools Curriculum

Consultant

Lily HerwaldProgram Consultant

Diedre LaBountyProgram assistant

Andre LewisFilmmaker

Elizabeth CockrellTongass Wild Salmon

Intern

Natalia PoveliteSalmon Forest

Organizer

Andrianna Natsoulas Writer

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The Sitka Conservation Society, Southeast Alaska’s oldest conservation organization, works to protect the natural environment of the Tongass, the nation’s largest National Forest, while supporting the development of sustainable communities that call this wild landscape home.

This calendar and annual report is full of beautiful images of the Tongass and stories of how your support has allowed SCS to protect it.

Sitka Conservation SocietyAnnual Report

Sitka Conservation SocietyP.O. Box 6533

Sitka, Alaska [email protected]

w w w. s i t k a w i l d . o r g

2012 annual report calendar

Documents

tongass advocacy

people of sitka

sitka community use

field work

community sustainability

tongass wilderness areas

wilderness stewardship

conservation efforts