Community-based Wilderness Stewardship on the Tongass National Forest

2010/2011 PROGRESS REPORT

Partnering to ensure "an enduring resource of Wilderness"

Rust Lake and the Outer Coast of West-Chichagof-Yakobi Island Wilderness

Overlooking South Baranof Wilderness

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, the U.S. Forest Service issued a

stewardship challenge, calling for all Wilderness Areas in the National Forest System to meet baseline

management standards by 2014.

In 2009, the Sitka Conservation Society partnered with the USFS Sitka Ranger District on the Sitka Community

Wilderness Stewardship Project (CWSP) to help meet the elements of the Wilderness Stewardship Challenge. Building

on the success of the CWSP in its first year, SCS and the Sitka Ranger District continued this partnership into 2010. This work was funded by a grant from the National Forest Foundation and matched by SCS. Logistical, planning, and

consulting support was provided by the Sitka Ranger District. This project will continue in 2011.

The elements of the Wilderness Stewardship Challenge to be addressed through this project are:

#2 The Wilderness was successfully treated for non-native, invasive plant species

#4 Priority actions in Wilderness Education plan are implemented

#5 Wilderness has adequate direction, monitoring, and management for solitude

#9 The priority information needs for the Wilderness area have been addressed

Project Summary

Alpine groundcover, West Chichagof Wilderness1

Project Field Sites- West Chichagof-Yakobi

Stag Bay

Goulding Lakes

Rust Lake

Lake Suloia

Black Bay

Cobol Cabin Site

Filipino Cove

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Project Field Sites- South Baranof

Red Bluff Bay

Patterson Bay

Gut BayMount Ada Glacier

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Summary

We conducted field surveys for rare, non-native, and sensitive plant species in both Wilderness Areas. Inventorying for non-native plants is the first step toward successfully treating for invasive species. In the Tongass National Forest, accessing field sites can be particularly challenging due to access, terrain, and weather. Almost every trip this season experienced some form of delay due to weather. For example, in Black Bay our crew spent an extra 3 days in the field waiting for fog to lift, and could only then reach Juneau by plane and still had to take the ferry back to Sitka! For this reason, the Wilderness Areas have never been completely surveyed.

Our field crew selected sites for their unique characteristics. For example, sites in Red Bluff Bay and Rust Lake were chosen for geologic anomalies that may be habitat for unique or rare plant communitites. Surveys were conducted in areas of historical and current human use, as well as, areas without documented utilization. Red Bluff cannery, Cobol, Trap Pt and Lake Leo are sites with documented human use; with the exception of Cobol, non native species were not detected. Plants found at Cobol were remnants of a garden which continued to thrive despite the lack of cultivation including; rhubarb, two varieties of daffodils (King Alfred type and poeticus), European Mountain Ash, and English Hyacinths. Creeping buttercup was growing in the abandoned garden as were introduced grasses (too young to identify with certainty). Falls Lake fish weir and cabin, as well as, a popular sockeye fishing site at Gut Bay were free of invasive and non native plant species.

Non-native and Sensitive Plant Surveys

Wilderness Stewardship Challege:Element #2:

The Wilderness was successfully treated for non-native, invasive

palnt species

Saxifraga oppositifolia on Karst limestone

Field collections

Recording unique flora at Rust Lake 4

Plant Surveys (continued)

Surveys were conducted by a trained botanist and all plant identifications were verified and cataloged with the University of Alaska Fairbanks. In total, 10 watersheds were surveyed for invasive plants. We discovered the following non-native plants:

Rheum spp. (rhubarb)Narcissus poeticus (daffodil)Narcissus king alfred (daffodil)Hyacinthus spp. (hyacinth)Sorbus aucuparia (European mountain-ash)Ranunuculous repens (creeping buttercup)

In 2009, we discovered a population of Taraxacum officinale (common dandelion) at Rust Lake and reassessed the extent this summer. An increase in this population prompted a proposal for site treatment in 2011. The expanding population of dandelion is of concern as the same gravel bars are home to one of the few documented populations of Alaska poppy (Papaver radicatum). As of this writing, the NEPA process is taking place and we plan to treat this site in June 2011.

Species lists by site are tabulated in the document Community-based Stewardship on the Tongass National Forest-2010/2011 Data Report.

Lloydia serotina

Field samples for identification

Outrop of ultra-mafic bedrock in Red Bluff Bay

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Solitude Monitoring

Wilderness Stewardship Challege:Element #5:

The Wilderness has adequate direction, monitoring, and management for solitude

Summary

Designated Wilderness area in the Tongass covers 5,750,000 acres (that is an area bigger than the state of New Hampshire). The sheer size of these areas makes collecting solitude data, which requires on-the-ground monitoring, extremely difficult. It would be impossible to fulfill the data requirements to adequately monitor solitude without the help of community volunteers, guides, anglers, and outfitters that use and rely on Wilderness areas. SCS recruited and coordinated a cadre of volunteers to collect this data using protocols and forms developed in partnership with SCS and USFS staff.

To ensure that Wildernesses are managed effectively and continue to provide “outstanding opportunities for solitude,” a base-line for current impacts to solitude is key. From this base-line, we will be able to chart the current conditions of solitude, track changes, and manage appropriately, then again track the changes to judge the effectiveness of the management action. Without a base-line, these areas are subject to “creeping normalcy,” that is, each generation tends to believe the environmental and social conditions that exists when they first experience a place are “normal” or “base-line.”

Data measured included numbers of groups, boats, and planes seen, as well as qualitative descriptions of impacts to solitude experience.

Training guides in monitoring protocol

Volunteers flying to field site

Solitude monitoring volunteerCompleted monitoring form 6

Solitude Monitoring (continued)

West Chichagof Wilderness Area

The maps below show change in coverage of baseline solitude data for West Chichagof Wilderness between the 2009 and 2010 projet periods. In total for both Wilderness Areas, 1041 hours of solitude data were collected in the 2009/2010 and 918.5 hours in the 2010/2011 project period.

These maps do not show additional solitude data collected by the USFS on Wilderness Ranger Patrols. These maps should not be used for analysis.

Outercoast of West Chichagof

Outercoast of West Chichagof

West Chichagof-Yakobi Wilderness2009/2010 solitude data

West Chichagof-Yakobi Wilderness2009/2010 and 2010/2011solitude data (cumulative)

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Solitude Monitoring (continued)

South Baranof Wilderness Area

The maps below show change in coverage of baseline solitude data for South Baranof Wilderness between the 2009 and 2010 projet periods. Field sites are chosen to collect data in sub-watersheds that are remote and difficult to access.

Old-growth hemlock in Gut Bay Patterson Bay

South Baranof Wilderness2009/2010 solitude data

South Baranof Wilderness2009/2010 and 2010/2011solitude data (cumulative)

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Stewardship, Education, and Outreach

Wilderness Stewardship Challege:Element #4:

Priority actions in Wilderness education plan are implemented

Summary

As part of the Community Wilderness Stewardship Project, SCS hosted many outreach events focused on Wilderness, including:

• A boat cruise to the Wilderness Area guided by project manager Scott Harris—an opportunity for community members to see this area which would ordinarily be too difficult to access. 40 participants

• A presentation on the project at SCS's Wild Week Banquet by Wilderness Intern Adam Andis. 120 participants

• A presentation to the neighboring community of Juneau to help start up their own Community Wilderness Stewardship Project. 10 participants

• Training for Wilderness kayak guides. 9 participants

Wilderness Intern Adam Andis compiled video and photo trip reports from the season and maintained a Wilderness blog of the project (sitkawild.org/wilderness) in order to keep the public up-to-date and reach a wider audience.

In addition, media representatives, photographers, and writers were contacted an invited to join expeditions in the field in order to share stories of Wilderness solitude with others. KCAW Radio reporter Lily Mihalik participated in an expedition to Rust Lake and author Nick Jans accompanied the crew to South Baranof. Their stories can be found on the accompanying CD, or through links in the "Additional Resources" section at the end of this report.

In October, SCS received the Bob Marshall Group Champions of Wilderness Stewardship Award from the US Forest Service for the project.

Author Nick Jans in Gut Bay

Reporter Lily Mihalik at Rust LakeReceiving the Bob Marshall Award 9

Information and Collaborative Research

Wilderness Stewardship Challege:Element #9:

The priority information needs for Wilderness area have been

addressed

Summary

Conducting field research in the Tongass National Forest can be difficult and expensive. Therefore, one goal was to increase the scope of the project by collecting other identified information in Wilderness Areas. This research was collected in partnership with a number of organizations.

The following data sets were collected, organized, and entered into databases (Solitude data is recorded in Excel and ArcGIS. Plant data is in Excel and Cybertracker).* All databases and analyses were made available to the Forest Service and project partners:

• volunteer-collected solitude data• invasive plant data• sensitive plant species data• bird species for selected sites• culturally modified tree (CMT) data*

* raw CMT data was given to the USFS Sitka District anthropologist.

See the document Community-based Stewardship on the Tongass National Forest – 2010/2011 Data Report for the tabulated data.

Our presence in the field offered partnering institutions and researchers an opportunities to collect more data and access more locations in Wilderness. Many of these areas are poorly studied and researchers were eager for us to collect additional base-line data specifically from Wilderness Areas. In this way, we were able to leverage funds and volunteer efforts to accomplish multiple research objectives. Most notable of these partnerships included:

Partner Project:Anthropological Surveys

The Wilderness Act states that Wilderness “may also contain...features of scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value.” (Sec 2c) The entire coastline of Southeast Alaska was once populated or frequented by the native cultures of the region. The Wilderness Areas contain vestiges of this history that must be recorded and preserved because they add to the Wilderness character. Field crews photographed and georeferenced signs of historical use such as CMTs and pictographs. This data was given to the USFS Sitka Ranger District anthropologist for further research.

Recording CMT data

Brown bear prints

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Collaborative Research (Continued)

Partner Project:Glacial Change on Baranof Island

Yale University student Jonathan Kreiss-Tompkins received a Wilderness Expedition Grant from SCS to study the local-level impact of climate change on the glaciers in South Baranof Wilderness. The alpine glaciers on Baranof are small, disparate, and sensitive to due to the specific temperature climate in which they are situated. Through funds from SCS and Yale University's Richter Fund and with technological support from University of Alaska Southeast, this project quantified the change in area of selected glaciers by gathering geospatial data, calculating the perimeter and surface area of the glaciers, using a model to estimate glacial volume, and comparing findings against historical records—historical USGS field measurements, historical aerial photographs, tree core data, and geomorphological indicators such as terminal moraines and trim lines. With this data, Jonathan can quantify historical change of surface area and perimeter and calculate the rate of change which will allow predictions of future glacial advance or retreat. More information on the accompanying CD.

Partner Project:Deer Mortality Study

Field crews surveyed for winter-killed deer at selective sites for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. This data supports deer management efforts and allows for comparison of deer populations over the Southeast Alaskan landscape.

Partner Project:Small Mammal Genetic Diversity

Research based on DNA studies of small mammals such as voles, shrews, and weasels found on Baranof, Chichagof, Prince of Wales, and Admiralty islands in many Wilderness areas, has helped give scientists a clearer picture of which islands may have been covered with glaciers as late as 12,000 years ago. Biology teacher Kent Bovee and students from Sitka School District accompanied the field crew to survey for beavers and collect small mammal DNA for a genetic study of dispersal rates and distances of beavers throughout Southeast Alaska.

Alpine glaciers on the eastern coast of South Baranof Wilderness

This glacier has substantially receded in just a few decades

Glacial crevasses 11

Additional Resources• See Nick Jan's article, “Counting Wilderness” in the October 2010 issue of Alaska Magazine about a

Wilderness monitoring trip to Red Bluff Bay in South Baranof Wilderness Area.• KCAW Radio reporter Lily Mihalik's two-part coverage of an expedition to Rust Lake in West Chichagof

Wilderness Area can be found at the links:“Wilderness Surveys Shed Light on Human Impact”:

http://kcaw.org/modules/local_news/index.php?op=centerBlock&ID=836“Wild Plants may Show Signs of Climate Change”:

http://kcaw.org/modules/local_news/index.php?op=centerBlock&ID=839• Mihalik also produced a report on traditional maintinence of Greentop Cabin in West Chichagof Wilderness

Area:“Wilderness Maintinence the Old Fashion Way”:

http://kcaw.org/modules/local_news/index.php?op=sideBlock&ID=853

Additional Resources

Supplementary CD

Included with this report is a CD with additional materials relating to the 2010/2011 Community Wilderness Stewardship Project. If you received this report without the CD, you can contact Sitka Conservation Society at info@sitkawild.org or call 907-747-7509 to request these materials.

Supplementary CD Index:

Bob Marshall Award Folder• Award Briefing Sheet.pdf- sent to government officials, media representatives, etc.• Empire Article.pdf- article about the award in the Juneau Empire• Bob Marshall Award.JPG- photo of the award• Sen_Begich_Congrats_ltr.pdf- a letter from Senator Begich congratulating SCS for receiving the award• Sentinel Award.pdf- article in the Sitka Sentinel• USFS_Pendelton_Congrats_ltr 9_10.pdf- a letter of congratulations from Beth Pendelton, Regional

Forester, Region 10• VideoPostCard_Award.mpg- a short video about the Bob Marshall award and SCS

CWSP Gallery- photos from the 2010-2011 season of the Community Wilderness Stewardship Project Reports- 2010/2011 Project Data Report and Project Report in web and print versions

• AK Magazine Article.pdf- article written by Nick Jans in Alaska• black-bay-report.pdf- Trip Report from an expedition to Black Bay, written by Bob Christensen from

SEAWEAD (Southeast Alaska Wilderness Exploration, Analysis & Discovery)• Glacier Study Trip Report.pdf- Trip Report from our South Baranof Glacier Study Expedition including

articles from our 2011 Expedition Grant Winners• Trip Report Goulding Lakes.mpg- Video Trip Report from an expedition to Goulding Lakes• KCAW WildernessMonitoring I & II.mp3- radio stories produced by KCAW-Raven Radio reporter Lily

Mihalik on the CWSP• media invite.pdf- an invitation to media representative to join an SCS Wilderness Expedition• Rust Lake Trip Report.pdf- Trip Report of an expedition to Rust Lake written by SCS Wilderness Intern,

Adam Andis• Trip Report Glacier Study.mpg- a slideshow of the South Baranof Glacier Study Exp. narrated by 2011

grant recipient Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins• Trip Report South Baranof Coast.mpg- Video Trip Report of an expedition to South Baranof Wilderness• Trip Report Yakobi.mpg- Video Trip Report of an expedition to Yakobi Island• volunteer poster.pdf- poster recruiting community members to collect solitude data

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