This document is part of the Wilderness Interpretation and Education Toolbox on
Wilderness Education Plan
Juneau Ranger District &
Admiralty IslandNational Monument
Tongass National Forest, Alaska, Region 10
October 9November 14, 2003DRAFT
This document is part of the Wilderness Interpretation and Education Toolbox on
by Tim Lydon, April 2003
Edits by John Neary, Oct. 2003
Tim Lydon Oct 2003
Harry Tullis Oct 2003
John Neary Nov. 2003
This document is part of the Wilderness Interpretation and Education Toolbox on
Our broadeducation mission
The mission of the US Forest Service is “Caring for the land, and serving the people”. The mission of the Alaska Region for Interpretation and Conservation Education (ICE) is “sparking imaginations, fostering stewardship of Alaska’s National Forests”. The Alaska Region ICE vision is stated in the regional strategy; “Through our efforts, people value National Forests and resources, and work together to assure wise management of them”.
Goals of this education plan
The Juneau Ranger District (JRD) and Admiralty Island National Monument (ANM) Wilderness education program seeks to:
- Expand public appreciation for wilderness through education about wilderness legislation, national forest management and the human and natural history of its wilderness areas.
- Reduce physical, visual and social impacts in wilderness.
This plan identifies management issues in each wilderness, objectives we hope to achieve through education and action plans we can use to address them.
Introduction to Wilderness Program on JRD and ANM
Juneau Ranger DistrictWilderness Management Issues
The Juneau Ranger District (JRD) has three wilderness areas—EndicottRiver, ChuckRiver, and Tracy Arm-Fords Terror—which encompass approximately 830,000 acres, or more than 20% of Juneau district lands. Each area has a unique setting and history, and numbers of visitors and types of use in each area vary widely.
EndicottRiver Wilderness
The Endicott River Wilderness comprises 98,729 acres of the ChilkatMountains approximately forty miles northwest of Juneau. It is bordered on its east by Lynn Canal and on its west by Glacier BayNational Park. Surrounded by high mountains (over 5000’), it encompasses the entire EndicottRiver drainage, one of the largest rivers in the ChilkatRange. At its center lies the unique EndicottRiver plateau, a glacial outwash plain with an early-successional forest of cottonwood, willow and spruce. Moose, wolves, goats and black and brown bear use the plain and its surrounding mountains.
Access to the wilderness is difficult due to a combination of high mountains, thick vegetation, swift rivers and deep gorges. There are no trails in EndicottRiver and access is typically by small planes, which land on unimproved gravel bars along the EndicottRiver and its tributaries. Visitation to EndicottRiver is light throughout most of the year, but becomes moderate during the fall moose hunt.
Management issues in EndicottRiver include:
resource damage (cutting trails to retrieve game, removal of vegetation where planes land, excessive impacts from wall tents, considerable litter)
illegal outfitting (guided and outfitted hunting)
illegal hunting (hunting without permits, abandonment of meat)
ChuckRiver Wilderness
The Chuck River Wilderness encompasses 74,298 acres roughly sixty-five miles south of Juneau on the east side of Stephens Passage. It surrounds the east side of WindhamBay and borders the south side of Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness. The wilderness includes almost the entire ChuckRiver drainage, among the richest salmon streams in southeast Alaska. Although impacts remain from several mining communities established in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, large-scale logging never occurred in ChuckRiver, making it a rare example of mainland old-growth temperate rain forest. Wolves, deer, and brown and black bear are common in the area.
Steep hills surround WindhamBay, keeping its waters calm and making it a popular anchorage for independent pleasure boats, commercial fishing boats, and small tour boats. Several outfitter/guides have permits for fishing, hunting and sightseeing in the wilderness, and an unknown number of independent boaters also go ashore. Most of the use occurs around the ChuckRiver estuary or on the one-mile Taylor Lake Trail, the only trail in the wilderness. There are also several private inholdings adjacent to the wilderness, with a few cabins and a commercial lodge (Lost Rocker Lodge) that bring additional wilderness visitors.
Management issues in ChuckRiver include:
resource damage (litter and damaged vegetation near private inholdings, ChuckRiver estuary and Taylor Lake Trail)
illegal outfitting (unauthorized commercial hunting, hiking and sightseeing)
outfitter/guide permit violations (group-size limits and unnecessary physical and social impacts)
threats to wildlife (illegal hunting and improper wildlife viewing behavior)
Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness
At 653,179 acres, Tracy Arm-Fords Terror is the largest of the Juneau Ranger District wildernesses. It is approximately forty-five miles south of Juneau and surrounds most of HolkhamBay on the east side of Stephens Passage. It surrounds three dramatic glacial fiords, Tracy and Endicott Arms and Fords Terror, and extends eastward to include the glaciers and high mountains of the Canadian border. The wilderness is mountainous and heavily glaciated, with most of its terrain above treeline, and although a few low valleys host mature forest, most of the land along shore is steep and covered in an early-successional mix of alder, willow and young spruce. Deer, goats, and black bear are common, and thousands of harbor seals use the ice bergs produced by the area’s three tidewater glaciers. There are no trails in the wilderness.
Tracy Arm-Fords Terror receives heavy use, with an estimated 120,000 people visiting annually, mostly by boat. Boaters include a growing number of commercial and independent sea kayakers, independent pleasure boaters and passengers aboard commercial vessels that range from small charters on day-trips to large cruise ships on extended tours of the Inside Passage. The wilderness also attracts bear and goat hunters in spring and fall and is featured in at least one guide book as a sea kayaking destination. Permitted commercial uses include camping, hiking, sightseeing, hunting, and storage of commercial fishing gear.
Management issues in Tracy Arm-Fords Terror include:
resource damage (damaged vegetation, cut trees, improperly disposed human waste and litter associated with camping, sightseeing and storage of commercial fishing gear)
illegal outfitting (unauthorized hunting and guided sea kayak trips)
social impacts (effects heavy motorized use on marine waters has on wilderness visitors ashore, commercial and independent crowding at limited campsites)
threats to wildlife (illegal hunting, improper wildlife viewing behavior)
Admiralty IslandNational Monument Introduction
Kootznoowoo Wilderness
At 937,396 acres, Kootznoowoo Wilderness is large and complex. Known mostly for its very dense population of brown (grizzly) bears that inhabit old-growth stands of spruce and hemlock forest, it is an island closely connected with the Alaskan Native village of Angoon on its western shore. Deer hunters from Angoon and all of the communities surrounding the island traverse the heavily forested ridges during the fall hunt. Summer is for anglers, boaters, bear-watchers, and paddlers looking for a remote bay or lake. 14 public rental cabins and 9 shelters are scattered throughout the island, many of them along 27 miles of trail. Several private cabins also attract attention. Permitted commercial uses include camping, hiking, sightseeing, hunting, and fishing.
Management issues in Kootznoowoo wilderness include:
illegal or unpermitted (below high tide line) outfitting and guiding
impacts to wildlife, especially brown bear, from hunting, watching, or other activities
resource damage (damaged vegetation, cut trees, trespass structures, improperly disposed human waste and litter associated with camping, and storage of commercial fishing gear)
social impacts (commercial crowding in remote bays)
Wilderness Education Issues
JRD and ANM Overview
The primary issues the wilderness program attempts to address through education, referenced in the preceding overviews of each wilderness area, are summarized below:
resource damage: wilderness rangers use their expertise in Leave No Trace (LNT) camping and traveling skills to educate commercial and independent forest visitors on protection of wilderness resources.
threats to wildlife: rangers promote safe and appropriate hunting and wildlife viewing on national forest lands and focus on compatibility with bears specifically
social impacts: rangers educate the public about the importance of solitude in wilderness
illegal outfitting/guiding: rangers educate the public on the importance of a permit system for commercial activities on public lands
These topics are important as they relate directly to the wilderness resource, but broader wilderness issues are equally important. Specific topics include:
the purposes and intent of the Wilderness Act and ANILCA
history of wilderness legislation
wilderness values, philosophy and ethics
wilderness management and how it relates to other federal land management objectives
In addition, wilderness rangers have a unique opportunity to educate the public on broader national forest issues, particularly while engaged in scheduled field contacts and community contacts. Common issues of interest to such groups include:
the history of the Forest Service and the meaning of its multiple use mandate
specific management issues on the TongassNational Forest
the issues and roles of other agencies and partners
Finally, visitor response to the spectacular nature of our northern Tongass wildernesses and the high volume of contacts during shipboard interpretation or other programs require rangers to answer a broad range of questions about the human and natural history of southeast Alaska. To best serve the public in this regard, the wilderness program seeks to provide expert and comprehensive information on the region’s nature and past and present cultures.
Description of Wilderness Management Staff (with education duties)
Employees of the wilderness programs for both districts are supervised by the district ranger for AdmiraltyNational Monument. There is one, GS-11 Wilderness staff position and one, GS-9 Wilderness field manager position overseeing several field staff positions.
Juneau Ranger District field staff include:
- one permanent-seasonal GS-7 wilderness crew leader,
- one permanent-seasonal GS-6 wilderness crew leader assistant
- one permanent-seasonal GS-5 wilderness ranger
- two or more temporary, seasonal GS-5 wilderness rangers.
Each year from mid-May to early September, the wilderness crew performs an average of nine, nine-day field trips, mostly in Tracy Arm-Fords Terror. To reduce disturbance to wildlife and visitors and facilitate access to steep shores, the rangers travel mostly by sea kayak in Tracy Arm-Fords Terror. Due to a heavy workload, they generally visit Chuck River only once each year and Endicott River only once every three or four years.
The wilderness crew’s primary duties are rehabilitating resource damage, monitoring wildlife and recreation trends, and educating wilderness visitors on a wide array of issues.
The biggest challenge facing the JRD wilderness program is funding. Consistent under-funding and high transportation costs keeps the crew size small, which limits education efforts and prevents regular visits to ChuckRiver and EndicottRiver wildernesses.
AdmiraltyNational Monument field staff with education duties include:
- one permanent-seasonal GS-7 wilderness crew leader,
- one permanent-seasonal GS-6 Pack Creek crew leader,
- one permanent-seasonal GS-5 Pack Creek ranger,
- one GS-5 Pack Creek temporary ranger, and
- during better budget years, additional temporary, seasonal GS-5 wilderness rangers
Most of the education effort by field crews on Admiralty Island is at Pack Creek bear viewing area in SeymourCanal, where educating visitors about bears is of primary importance. MitchellBay near Angoon also receives regular, but more limited effort while the remaining bays and lakes receive only intermittent attention. Campsite cleanup in SeymourCanal, outfitter and guide monitoring at The Brothers, and trespass cabin removals in various remote bays are normally all that can be accomplished with our limited staff. Community programs have been conducted in schools and organizations in Juneau by the permanent staff as time allows (a few programs a year).
Roles in Wilderness Education Contacts
Education is an important component of most wilderness projects and occurs on three primary levels:
Impromptu Field Contacts where rangers talk with both commercial and independent kayakers, boaters, hunters, hikers, campers and anglers in the wilderness met by chance
Scheduled Field Contacts such as the shipboard interpretation in Tracy Arm/Fords Terror Wilderness, where rangers board small and mid-size tour boats to provide interpretive programs for passengers and crew. Another example in Kootznoowoo Wilderness is at Pack Creek bear viewing area where rangers weave interpretive talks into their enforcement and monitoring of human and brown bear interactions
Community Contacts where rangers give presentations to outfitter/guide training groups, school groups, youth and scouting organizations, and others.
Role of Wilderness Crew Leaders from JRD and ANM
The wilderness crew leader for each district serves as the coordinator for wilderness issues and information and will ensure the wilderness program meets its education mission by:
creating a comprehensive source of wilderness education materials for the district and the public
coordinating with other district programs to keep the wilderness education program current and comprehensive. Examples include wilderness programs on other districts and non-Wilderness interpretive programs at the MendenhallGlacierVisitorCenter and Tongass Marine Ferry
providing new staff with background information and training materials that show the importance of education in the wilderness program
providing current news that keeps staff updated on wilderness, district and forest issues.
making wilderness education a visible part of district activities and services
coordinating wilderness education with partners by maintaining current partnerships and creating new ones (examples include outfitter/guide groups, tour boats, youth service groups and schools)
Role of Wilderness Rangers in Wilderness Education
While also providing wilderness information on the district and in the community, the wilderness rangers serve as the key contacts in the field for wilderness issues and information and will ensure the wilderness program meets its education mission by:
using their knowledge and experience in the field to keep education information and materials current and relevant
apprising the wilderness crew leader when education materials need to be re-supplied, replaced or updated.
training new staff about the importance of education in the wilderness program
providing Leave No Trace and wilderness education programs to district personnel and the pubic.
interpreting aboard tour ships, at Pack Creek, and by visiting o/g groups in the field
contacting other wilderness visitors in the field to provide information and education
Target Audiences for Wilderness Education
Southeast Alaska’s growing tourism industry and Juneau’s vibrant recreational community provide diverse audiences for wilderness education efforts. In addition to the following list of existing and potential audiences, the wilderness crew will work together to seek new partnerships and audiences.
Commercial Outfitter and Guide Operators:
Alaska Discovery Tours, Juneau provides extended sea kayak trips throughout southeast Alaska and brings the largest number of guided campers into Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness. Each year rangers participate in training for its guides and visit its groups in the field.
Juneau Outdoor Center (JOC) is the only company renting sea kayaks in Juneau, JOC has direct contact with a steady number of visitors to Tracy Arm-Fords Terror and to some SeymourCanal kayakers. Over the years, the JOC staff has enthusiastically helped the Forest Service understand independent visitor numbers and patterns in Tracy Arm-Fords Terror and distributed Leave No Trace information to kayakers headed to the wilderness.
Various tour boat companies are already contacted byJRD wilderness rangers; about 2,500 people annually aboard boats from five different companies. With current funding there is no room for growth. However, reaching a larger percentage of the estimated 40,000 people who visit the TAFT wilderness by small and mid-size tour boat would benefit the Forest Service. Opportunities abound for rangers to interpret Admiralty Island also, since several of the tour boats visit both TAFT and Kootznoowoo Wilderness on the same trip.
Other Guide Companies in Juneau, Alaska offer commercial trips to the wilderness areas nearby. Alaska Fly N Fish Charters does extensive bear watching at Pack Creek and in SeymourCanal, several guides offer bear or goat hunting trips in the spring or fall to out of state residents, fly fishing trips are offered through Bear Creek Outfitters and others, Dolphin Jet Boat Tours offer near shore wildlife watching trips on north Admiralty. A USFS sponsored “guide academy” could prepare these guides to better interpret wilderness resources.
Lodges and guide companies in Angoon and Admiralty Islandsuch as Whalers Cove Lodge, Pybus Point Lodge, and Thayer Lake Lodge could also benefit from a “guide academy” and some better interpretive resources for their clients who visit or float by the Kootznoowoo Wilderness.
Local Governments and their affiliates:
City and Bureau of Juneau School District children and teachers can benefit greatly from Leave No Trace and wilderness education programs. Programs in classes during the spring and fall are possible. JSD already funds CampWATER, a field based natural sciences program that takes place in the summer.