Bill to Establish Southeast
State Forest Passed
April 20, 2010
Tuesday
(SitNews) - Alaska Governor Sean Parnell yesterday welcomed the
news that House Bill 162, which establishes a Southeast State
Forest, has passed the Legislature.
"The passage of this legislation comes at a time when our
Southeast communities need some positive economic news,"
the governor said. "I'm pleased that the administration
and the Legislature are working together to provide timber jobs
and other opportunities for this region of Alaska."
This forest, covering 25,291 acres, is the third in the Alaska
State Forest System and the first addition since the Tanana Valley
State Forest in 1983.
This designation of state lands
enables the Department of Natural Resources' Division of Forestry
(DOF) to invest in and manage the land for a long-term timber
supply for local processors, while allowing for multiple other
uses.
The new state forest will create
new job opportunities. DOF will move ahead with projects for
pre-commercial thinning of young stands of trees that are now
20 years old. The work will be contracted to the private sector
for the thinning of approximately 1,000 acres over the next 12
to 24 months. The treatment will prepare the site for a return
to commercial harvest, and will increase the wood quality and
volume-per-acre in the timber stands.
On the Web:
House Bill 162
http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?session=26&bill=hb162
Source of News:
Office of the Governor
www.gov.state.ak.us
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