A program to help southeast Alaska adjust to restrictions on timber harvesting on federal land had a total impact of about $9 million in its first two years, the Forest Service said.
Recipients of grants through the Southeast Alaska Sustainability Strategy put about $4.6 million into projects in 2023, out of a total of $25 million in federal funding for the multi-year effort, according to an economic impact report.
The Forest Service said the report indicates that the program launched in 2022 is beginning to take hold, directing funds to younger-growth timber, fishing, recreation and other enterprises. The total $9 million impact includes an economic multiplier effect.
The Biden administration announced the strategy in 2021 as officials reinstated prohibitions on road construction and timber harvesting in designated roadless areas of the Tongass National Forest, over the objections of the state’s political leaders. Funding began to flow in 2022.
