Wilderness
SCS was born out of the desire to protect parts of the Tongass forever as designated Wilderness Areas. Since then, we continue to be stewards of our Wilderness and advocate for more Wilderness protection. Our Wilderness crew spends countless hours bushwhacking, paddling, hiking, and climbing to chart on-the-ground conditions. We also seek to connect Sitkans and Tongass residents with their wild places by incorporating volunteers on research trips, educating the public of Wilderness values, and sharing the pristine beauty of Wildernesses locally and nationally. Learn more about Wilderness designation and the history of Wilderness on Wilderness.net.
Community Wilderness Stewardship Project
The CWSP is an effort to get Sitkans out into our Wilderness Areas to help SCS conduct research and monitoring expeditions. Find out how you can help by volunteering on a research expedition or by collecting data on your next hunting, hiking, kayaking, or fishing trip.
Wild Places
Check out the Wild places in the Tongass with SCS’s wilderness crew. Here you can see our interactive map, track the Wilderness Crew in real-time via GPS, see video dispatches from the field, scroll through photos, read our reports.
Advocacy
Wilderness designation has protected some of the most unique and beautiful places in the Tongass, but there are still threats like climate change, mismanagement, and over-use. SCS constantly works to protect our Wilderness areas from threats and actively advocate for more Wilderness designation of important ecosystems.
Climate Change in the Tongass
SCS is keeping a close watch on how climate change affects the Tongass through annual summer field work. This research, which supplements that being done by the Forest Service and other agencies, includes monitoring changes in ice packs, glaciers, and plant and animal population. While we hate to see the Tongass negatively impacted by global warming, having good data on these changes is crucial for climate change advocacy work that could ultimately prevent future harm.
Related Posts:
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Final Summer Boat Cruise
Join the Sitka Conservation Society on their last boat cruise of the season! On Tuesday, Aug. 19, SCS will set sail with Allen Marine tours to explore the salmon of Sitka Sound. Lon Garrison, aquaculture director at the Sitka Sound Science Center will be on board as a guide and to answer questions. Come [...]
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Group Working to Save Yellow Cedar
As published in the Daily Sitka Sentinel on July 16, 2014 Four environmental groups have filed a petition to make the Alaskan yellow-cedar, an important tree to Tlingit carvers, an endangered species. However, some petitioners believe that the protection might not be enough to save the species. “It’s almost like we’re too late with the [...]
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The Southeast Sea Otter Story
The Sitka Conservation Society sponsored a boat cruise through Sitka Sound and Nakwasina Sound on Sunday afternoon, bring visitors from Florida, Columbia, New York, Ireland and even some native Sitkans around the waterways and salmon habitats of the area. Led by SCS director Andrew Thoms and SCS board member Kitty LaBounty, guests on the Allen [...]
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Working the Trail: Report on the Forest Service/SCS Stewardship Trip to White Sulphur
The next time I go for a walk in the woods, I’ll be sure to pay attention to the ground beneath my feet. Along with the trees lining it, and the birds flitting above it, and all the animals that may amble across it, a trail itself deserves attention. As easy as it is for [...]
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Tourism in the Tongass: The Mendenhall Glacier
Alaska hosted close to 2 million visitors between May 2013 and April 2014, shattering its previous annual visitor record by more than 5,000 people. Not surprisingly, about 1.7 million of those visitors came in the summer months, but last winter did see a 4 percent increase in out-of-state visitation, according to statistics published by the [...]
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When you wish upon a star!
There were XTRATUFS everywhere! Though, a few souls did venture into the tide pools without them. On a foggy and misty Sunday morning, some brave adventurers, sponsored by the Sitka Conservation Society, ventured to Kruzof to learn about intertidal species. The shore was spotted with sea stars and there was quite a bit to learn [...]
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Why do salmon jump? Exploring the Medvejie Hatchery in Southeast Alaska
Fishing season is in full swing here in Southeast Alaska. The docks of Sitka are buzzing with fishermen anxiously awaiting every available opener to go out and get the next big catch! Here in Southeast Alaska, fish are a part of every day life. One in 10 jobs in Sitka is directly related to the [...]
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Painting the Wilderness: Report on the Forest Service’s Annual Artist Trip
This past week, I, along with SCS co-workers Paul Killian and Tracy Gagnon, had the privilege of introducing Ray Geier, a talented artist from Boulder, Colorado, and a recipient of one of the Forest Service’s annual artist residencies, to Southeast Alaska. Our destination was South Baranof, designated wilderness in 1980 under ANILCA, where we spent [...]
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Hanging out with Captain Hook
Denise and Maureen have been friends for 15 years. They both participate in the same women’s group in Fort Collins, Colorado and love to travel. In the past, their adventures have taken them to India and Thailand. But, this summer, they set their sights on Alaska and they are already planning their return. On their [...]
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Falling in love in Sitka
by Sarah Stockdale I am in a land of light. Alaska is alive in the summer, and in southeast, the rainforest is abundant with green foliage. As part of the Alaska Conservation Foundation Summer internship program, I have been blessed with the opportunity to spend three months here in Sitka as a media and storytelling [...]
