Over the years, we have advocated for construction projects to use local second growth wood and crews and contractors, and prioritize input from local communities. We’ve partnered with the US Forest Service and local contractors, businesses, and volunteers to perform upgrades on public use cabins across the Tongass and with Sitka High School on Advanced Construction classes that built the Tongass Tiny Home from 2015 through 2021.
We’ve worked on the Allan Point, Fred’s Creek, and Kanga Bay Cabins on the Sitka Ranger District and the Deep Bay Cabin on the Wrangell Ranger District and are looking forward to continuing to work with the Forest Service as they plan and implement new cabin locations and designs across the Tongass.
Buying locally manufactured wood products crafted from sustainably sourced Tongass timber provides jobs, supports local businesses, and facilitates intra-region commerce across Southeast Alaska. Working with Sitka High School to design custom place-based curriculums provides students with the opportunity to build valuable technical skill-sets, while exploring potential pathways to success in the regional economy.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Sitka Conservation Society partnered with the City and Borough of Sitka to establish the “Community Conservation Corps,” a transitional employment program aimed at stimulating the local economy and building local workforce by giving jobs to unemployed, underemployed, and furloughed workers. The SCS Corps took on a multitude of projects, ranging from cemetery maintenance to mountain bike trail construction, engineering improvements for popular local hot springs, and collecting field data and creating a proposal for a long distance, hut-to-hut hiking trail on the Tongass south of Sitka.