SITKA, ALASKA The Forest Service recently wrapped up a log cabin construction project in Sitka that could represent a shift in how the agency manages the Tongass.
With a dwindling timber economy, the Sitka Ranger District is looking for new ways to maximize the forest’s resources, while supporting fish and wildlife. The agency last month (May) hosted a two-week log cabin construction class utilizing young growth Sitka spruce trees. The trees were harvested as part of a watershed restoration project in Sitka’s Starrigavan Valley.
Melissa Marconi Wentzel reports how Forest Service staff and others hope the project will jump-start a new wood products industry in the nation’s largest national forest,
