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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Protect West Chichagof
Designating land as Wilderness is the ultimate step to ensuring its protection in the long-term. Wilderness designation protects critical habitat from mining, logging, and development while still allowing people to use the land for hunting, fishing, subsistence gathering, recreating, and even making a living from guiding and operating tours. Wilderness was integral to SCS’s formation [...]
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The Meaning of Wild, March 9th in Sitka
SCS will present the Sitka premiere of The Meaning of Wild Sunday, March 9, 2014 from 6-8pm at the Sitka Performing Arts Center. Tickets $7 available at Old Harbor Books (2/14/2014). Free for kids 10 and under. The film will be accompanied by a selection of wilderness-themed short films, a photography exhibit and silent auction, and [...]
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Alaska Way-of-Life 4H
Want to get involved with 4H? 4H is a positive youth development program to get youth civically engaged and apply leadership skills at a young age. Our 4H Adventure Series starts February 18!! This series will be Tuesdays through May from 4:15 – 5:45pm for ages 8 to 13. Skills we will explore are: map and compass navigation, using survival kits, GPS [...]
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Seeking Summer Wilderness Intern
The Sitka Conservation Society is seeking an applicant to support the Sitka Community Wilderness Stewardship Project. The Wilderness Intern will assist SCS’s Wilderness Project manager to coordinate and lead monitoring expeditions during the 2014 summer field season. If interested, please review the position description below and submit a resume and cover letter to Adam Andis [...]
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Stop “Clear-Cutting” Wilderness and Recreation budgets
On the day before Halloween, the US Forest Service announced they were going to reduce the already insufficient $1.1 million dollar Wilderness and Recreation budget for the entire Tongass National Forest by over half a million dollars. This is “budgetary clear-cutting” with the Forest Service already proposing the closure of 12 cabins alongside a reduction in the [...]
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Voices of the Tongass – Kari Paustian
For Kari Paustian, one of the most important things about growing up in Southeast Alaska is the way that is has shaped what she considers valuable. To read about a value system based on the Tongass, read Kari’s story. To what she has to say, scroll to the play bar at the bottom of this [...]
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Running Wild
Running Wild from Sitka Conservation Society on Vimeo. Fellow runners, hikers, and outdoor enthusiasts, Pretty incredible wilderness to explore, eh? I wish I could share it with everyone. However, the management of these incredible places is changing–and there is something you can do about it. Right now, the Chief of the Forest Service Tom [...]
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Lake Suloia Wilderness Trip
In early October two high school students, Sitka Sound Science Center educator Ashley Bolwerk, and I traveled to Lake Suloia on Chichagof Island. This trip was part of the Community Wilderness Stewardship Project funded by the National Forest Foundation and the Sitka Conservation Society Living Wilderness Fund in order to gather baseline data on wilderness [...]
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Voices of the Tongass – Kevin McGowan
This week on Voices of The Tongass, Kevin McGowan explains his unusual fishing method: spear gun. To hear this week’s show, scroll to the bottom of this post. To continue the story, keep reading. Kevin McGowan has made some friends you need a snorkel to find. “Swimming and seeing a sea lion can be pretty [...]
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Voices of the Tongass – John Straley
This week on Voices of the Tongass, John Straley talks about what it means to succeed in the Last Frontier, from building a career to building a family. To hear the show, scroll to the play bar at the bottom of this post. John Straley’s father could not have predicted that moving to the Last [...]
