Last year, we asked you to comment on the Draft Assessment for the Tongass Forest Plan Revision, the land management plan that shapes how the agency makes decisions on the Tongass. Today, the USDA Forest Service released their draft assessment of the revision, and we can see how the Forest Service is taking into account the common ground values and voices of the people who live here: protecting functioning ecosystems, incorporating traditional knowledge in stewardship, and workforce development to support our emerging generations.
This new vision is thanks to the input of people like you: people who live here and care about these lands and waters, who took the time to attend public meetings and webinars, to write letters, and to submit comments. Your voices have been heard and created a record of the conditions, trends, and priorities on the Tongass today – one that will exist and can be cited beyond the current administration.
So what comes next? As of today, the Forest Service wants your feedback on their Draft Assessment, ie. What's missing, is there any additional information or sources that could be included, etc. The Forest Service wants to hear from you!
The Draft Assessment is quite expansive, with 21 separate sections, and right now SCS’s policy team is reviewing it for our own suggestions and putting together a commenting link to help you better submit feedback. Stay tuned for our findings and commenting tool soon!
If you want to write a comment on your own, you can submit comments to: https://bit.ly/tongasscomment