Alaska Beacon and Anchorage Daily News celebrate the Trust’s addition of 5 acres to Kootznoowoo Wilderness in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest.
April 16, 2024
Alaska Public Media celebrates the Trust’s addition of 5 acres to Kootznoowoo Wilderness in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest.
April 18, 2024
April 5, 2024-
The Wilderness Land Trust recently transferred 5 acres on Wheeler Creek to public ownership in Tongass National Forest, adding it to the Kootznoowoo Wilderness. At over 17 million acres, Tongass National Forest is the nation’s largest national forest, with 35% of it designated as wilderness across 19 wilderness areas.
The Tongass is often called “America’s climate forest” for the carbon it traps and stores. It role in mitigating climate change impacts is unparalleled. The Tongass is also sometimes called “America’s salmon forest’ as its waterways produce a quarter of the West Coast salmon catch, supporting both commercial fishing communities and native subsistence fishing. The Wheeler Creek property has abundant pink salmon and is also important king salmon spawning ground. Kootznoowoo, which means ‘fortress of the bears” in the native Lingít, is on Admiralty Island southwest of Juneau. Aptly named, it has the world’s highest concentration of brown bears in the world – an estimated 1,600 bears, with more than 1 bear per square mile on the island.
At only 5 acres, the Wheeler Creek property is only a drop in the vast landscape of the Tongass National Forest. But with direct boat access to the property, the wilderness inholding was likely to be developed with cabins or even a commercial lodge if not protected. Thanks to our partnership with Southeast Alaska Land Trust, there is one fewer such threat in the heart of this critical habitat.
Interestingly, land on and around the Wheeler Creek property is accreting, or accumulating. As glaciers continue to shrink, the land is rising in response to the reduced weight of the glaciers in a process known as isostatic rebound. As it rises, more land is exposed above the high-water line. When our Wheeler Creek property was recently surveyed it had actually grown (by less than an acre) since its last survey. Across the region this is creating new habitat and exciting conservation opportunities.
The Wilderness Land Trust recently transferred 5 acres on Wheeler Creek to public ownership in Tongass National Forest, adding it to the Kootznoowoo Wilderness. At over 17 million acres, Tongass National Forest is the nation’s largest national forest, with 35% of it designated as wilderness across 19 wilderness areas.
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September 8, 2023- Last month the Trust’s Vice President and Senior Lands Specialist Aimee Rutledge visited two of our project sites in the Chuck River and Kootznoowoo Wilderness Areas of southeast Alaska. Join us on a virtual site visit with this 4-minute video to learn more about the projects and one of America’s most important forests!
May 7, 2021 – In 2017 the Trust purchased the largest remaining private inholding in the Chuck River Wilderness in Alaska. This project was particularly meaningful for our dedicated lands staff because it represented our first land acquisition project in Alaska. 
The 154-acre property is located at the head of Windham Bay, approximately three hours southeast of Juneau by boat and across from the Admiralty Island National Monument. It includes a complex of eight mining claims dating back to 1869, and evidence of past mining activity can still be found amongst a few discarded and rusting pieces of equipment on the property.
Thanks to your generous support, this property now has a brighter future as federally designated wilderness. This week we transferred this land to the U.S. Forest Service for permanent protection as part of the Chuck River Wilderness, a rugged, untamed rainforest home to grizzly and black bear, moose, wolves and many other species.
By acquiring this property, we eliminated the potential for future mining within the wilderness designation. Upon transfer to public ownership, we have expanded the size of the Chuck River Wilderness and enhanced a public recreation experience by preserving the scenic panorama of Windham Bay.
Acquisition of wilderness inholdings remains the highest priority for land acquisition in the Tongass Land and Resource Management Plan. With your support, we will continue our partnership with the USFS to help achieve that goal and create further wilderness protection in Alaska.
