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Latest Library Content tagged with "Alaska"

Analysis: Top Ten Carbon Storing National Forests in America PDF

National forests, national parks and other federally-owned forests in the Pacific Northwest and Southeast Alaska hold extraordinary amounts of carbon and therefore play an important role in defending against climate change. According to United States Forest Service data, the ten national forests in the United States that store the most carbon per forested acre are all located in western Oregon, western Washington and southeast Alaska. Moist late-successional forests west of the Cascade Range mountains are among the Earth's greatest carbon storing ecosystems.

Carbon Storage from Revegetating Unneeded Forest Service Roads PDF

An overlooked opportunity to sequester carbon on National Forests rests with its massive road system. Preliminary analysis by TWS has indicated that returning unneeded Forest Service roads back to a natural state would be equivalent to revegetating an area larger than Rhode Island. We estimate that carbon storage from decommissioning and revegetating unneeded roads on our national forests is 39.5 — 48.5 million metric tons.

Izembek Road: Exchange Offers Quantity, but not Quality PDF

The Izembek road proposal that moved forward with the passage of P.L. 111-11 (the Omnibus Public Land Management Act) would sacrifice 206 acres of high-quality federally designated Wilderness lands in exchange for about 56,000 acres of far-less-valuable non-federal lands. This exchange would sacrifice quality habitat for a greater quantity of acres. It is not a fair exchange, and should be rejected.

Broken Promises: The Reality of Oil Development in America's Arctic PDF

Proponents of oil development in Alaska have been making promises, and breaking them, for decades. More than thirty years of industrial activity in Alaska have demonstrated that oil production is inherently a dirty business. Despite the industry’s best intentions to minimize impacts, environmental and social effects are accumulating and resulting in lasting harm to ecosystems and indigenous cultures. This report calls attention to the many gaps between promise and reality, casting doubt on the reassurances being made by drilling proponents and their allies.

Climate Change Impacts on Water Availability in Alaska PDF

Alaska is already showing evidence of climate change. Increases in temperature and changes in precipitation have had profound effects on regional hydrology, including shrinking wetlands, glacier and polar sea ice recession, permafrost melting, and an increase in fire frequency and intensity across the landscape as a result of increased drought and thunderstorms. Continuation of these trends will likely lead to further changes in the hydrologic cycle, with significant implications for the people, places, and wildlife that depend on Alaska’s water resources.

Climate Change Implications for Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge PDF

Alaska is experiencing visible signs of climate change, including melting permafrost, drying wetlands, and increased fire activity. To better understand what changes are taking place, and how land managers might deal with these changes on public lands, Dr. Wendy Loya, an ecologist with The Wilderness Society (TWS), initiated a project to apply climate change scenarios to Alaska’s federal wildlands. Together with TWS GIS analyst Anna Springsteen, and in partnership with the University of Alaska’s SNAP (Scenarios Network for Alaska Planning) program, Dr.

Izembek National Wildlife Refuge Road Fact Sheet PDF

Now that Congress has passed the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-11), federally protected Wilderness in the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge is in great peril. The bill would allow internationally significant Wilderness lands to be removed from federal protection in order to construct an unnecessary road between the Alaskan communities of King Cove and Cold Bay. This fact sheet examines the threats of the proposed road to the refuge.

Ecological Foundations of Fire Management in North American Forests and Shrubland Ecosystems PDF

The degree to which human intervention has modified fire frequency, intensity, and severity varies greatly among different ecosystems, and must be considered when planning to alter fuel loads or implement restorative treatments.

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