Habitat Management Strategies for Alaska's Tongass National Forest

Steven Rinella emphasizes the value of undeveloped winter range for Sitka black-tailed deer in southeastern Alaska's Tongass National Forest.

• Created by Theodore Roosevelt in 1908, the Tongass National Forest is the largest national forest in the United States at 17 million acres.

• Safeguarding the last remaining undeveloped forests in the Tongass National Forest is key to maintaining the region's high deer populations and high quality hunting.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture and others are working to transition the traditional southeast Alaska economy so public lands management benefits both people and wildlife.

• The proposed "Sealaska" legislation could end public ownership and access on more than 70,000 acres of the highest quality national forest lands in southeast Alaska.