Alaska logger finds better ways to do business
Pacific Log & Lumber has been harvesting timber from the Tongass National Forest for 30 years. But owner Steve Seley is ready to try something new. After observing for himself the long-term damage clear-cutting can do, hearing the concerns of The Wilderness Society and other conservation groups in progressive roundtable meetings and seeing the science to back it up, Seley is taking steps to try to put sustainable timber management into practice.
The Wilderness Society is working with Seley on solutions to transition his old-growth logging operation to a business model that combines forest habitat restoration with the manufacture and distribution of wood products using younger, smaller trees. This is exactly the kind of future The Wilderness Society is striving for — where business, social, and ecological needs and interests can meet while balancing benefits for all.
Check out this LA Times editorial for more details on what Steve Seley proposes, including some of the difficulties of transitioning to a new way of doing business on the Tongass.
photo: Emerald Bay in the Tongass National Forest, Alaska. Courtesy Sitka Conservation Society.
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Mike Anderson, J.D.
Mike has been with The Wilderness Society since 1985. His main focus is national forest management and policy, ranging from roadless area conservation to watershed restoration. He also helps coordinate all of The Wilderness Society's litigation activities.
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