Quick Facts

• Approximately 17 million acres.

• Largest, intact temperate rain forest in the world.

• Larger than 10 U.S. states (individually, not combined), including West Virginia, Maryland, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Vermont.

• 40% of the Tongass is non-forest land; mostly rock and ice fields, but also brush, alpine and wetland.

• Produces 80% of the commercial salmon harvested from Southeast Alaska. That’s 50 million salmon, valued at $60 million annually!

• 6.6 million acres is protected as Wilderness.

• Approximately 2,000 miles of road is open to public use (3,600 miles total).

It comprises the bulk of Alaska’s panhandle—the long, slender southeastern most stretch of Alaska extending down the northwest edge of British Columbia. Set aside by Theodore Roosevelt through a presidential proclamation in 1902, it was originally called the Alexander Archipelago Forest Reserve but was renamed the Tongass National Forest in 1907. It has since been expanded several times and now comprises about 80 percent of the state’s panhandle. The area was named after the Tongass group of the native Tlingits, who traditionally lived near Ketchikan, in the southern part of the panhandle. Some 75,000 people live in the Tongass National Forest—most of them in cities such as Juneau (Alaska’s state capital), Sitka, and several other communities—but the vast majority is a wilderness where eagles, bears, wolves, whales, sea lions, and other wildlife abound.

Avian Society Bald Eagles were especially abundant. We watched them soaring majestically above us, foraging along a lonely beach, or sometimes just perched in some dark green spruces, their brilliant white heads gleaming from miles away. We also saw plenty of Pigeon Guillemots, Tufted Puffins, and Cassin’s Auklets, as well as Marbled Murrelets, which nest in the massive ancient trees of the old-growth forests.

Quick Facts

• 101,500 square miles Neartic

• 165 Avian Bird Species - Avian Society

• This ecoregion represents a combination of alpine, subalpine and boreal mid-Cordilleran habitats across much of northern British Columbia and southeastern Yukon. The northern Cordillera forests extend across northern British Columbia, southern Yukon Territory, and cover a minute area in the Northwest Territories.

• mean annual temperature for this ecoregion is generally -2°C, mean summer temperature is 10°C, and mean winter temperature ranges from -13°C to -18.5°C. Mean annual precipitation is approximately 350-600 mm, but increases up to 1000 mm at higher elevations.

This ecoregion includes a number of different physiographic features: the northern Rocky Mountains in northern British Columbia; the Hyland Highland in southeastern Yukon north of the Liard River; the Liard Basin, a broad, rolling low-lying area; the complex, rugged Boreal Mountains and Plateaus; the Yukon-Stikine Highlands in the rain shadow of the Coast Mountains; and the Pelly and northern Cassiar Mountains. Discontinuous permafrost with low ice content occurs throughout the ecoregion, usually confined to lower, north-facing slopes

• Characteristic wildlife include moose (Alces alces), wolverine (Gulo gulo), snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus), black bear (Ursus americanus), grizzly bear (U. arctos), mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus), pika (Ochotona collaris), bison (Bison bison), Stone’s sheep (Ovis dalli spp.), Dall’s sheep (Ovis dalli spp.), weasel (Mustela spp.), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), beaver (Castor canadensis), muskrat (Ondatra zibethica), Arctic ground squirrel (Spermophilus parryi), spruce grouse (Dendragapus canadensis), ptarmigan (Lagopus spp.), snowy owl (Nyctea scandiaca), raptors, waterfowl, crane (Grus canadensis), and ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus). Many species of wildlife reach either their continental southern or northern range limits in this ecoregion. A large and intact predator prey system including wolves (Canis lupus), grizzly bears, caribou (Rangifer tarandus) and moose (Alces alces). There are especially high concentrations of grizzly bears in some of the valley lands.

Quick Facts

• Approximately 17 million acres.

• Largest, intact temperate rain forest in the world.

• Larger than 10 U.S. states (individually, not combined), including West Virginia, Maryland, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Vermont.

• 40% of the Tongass is non-forest land; mostly rock and ice fields, but also brush, alpine and wetland.

• Produces 80% of the commercial salmon harvested from Southeast Alaska. That’s 50 million salmon, valued at $60 million annually!

• 6.6 million acres is protected as Wilderness.

• Approximately 2,000 miles of road is open to public use (3,600 miles total).

Quick Facts

• Approximately 17 million acres.

• Largest, intact temperate rain forest in the world.

• Larger than 10 U.S. states (individually, not combined), including West Virginia, Maryland, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Vermont.

• 40% of the Tongass is non-forest land; mostly rock and ice fields, but also brush, alpine and wetland.

• Produces 80% of the commercial salmon harvested from Southeast Alaska. That’s 50 million salmon, valued at $60 million annually!

• 6.6 million acres is protected as Wilderness.

• Approximately 2,000 miles of road is open to public use (3,600 miles total).

Quick Facts

• Approximately 17 million acres.

• Largest, intact temperate rain forest in the world.

• Larger than 10 U.S. states (individually, not combined), including West Virginia, Maryland, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Vermont.

• 40% of the Tongass is non-forest land; mostly rock and ice fields, but also brush, alpine and wetland.

• Produces 80% of the commercial salmon harvested from Southeast Alaska. That’s 50 million salmon, valued at $60 million annually!

• 6.6 million acres is protected as Wilderness.

• Approximately 2,000 miles of road is open to public use (3,600 miles total).

Quick Facts

• Approximately 17 million acres.

• Largest, intact temperate rain forest in the world.

• Larger than 10 U.S. states (individually, not combined), including West Virginia, Maryland, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Vermont.

• 40% of the Tongass is non-forest land; mostly rock and ice fields, but also brush, alpine and wetland.

• Produces 80% of the commercial salmon harvested from Southeast Alaska. That’s 50 million salmon, valued at $60 million annually!

• 6.6 million acres is protected as Wilderness.

• Approximately 2,000 miles of road is open to public use (3,600 miles total).

Quick Facts

• Approximately 17 million acres.

• Largest, intact temperate rain forest in the world.

• Larger than 10 U.S. states (individually, not combined), including West Virginia, Maryland, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Vermont.

• 40% of the Tongass is non-forest land; mostly rock and ice fields, but also brush, alpine and wetland.

• Produces 80% of the commercial salmon harvested from Southeast Alaska. That’s 50 million salmon, valued at $60 million annually!

• 6.6 million acres is protected as Wilderness.

• Approximately 2,000 miles of road is open to public use (3,600 miles total).

Quick Facts

• Approximately 17 million acres.

• Largest, intact temperate rain forest in the world.

• Larger than 10 U.S. states (individually, not combined), including West Virginia, Maryland, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Vermont.

• 40% of the Tongass is non-forest land; mostly rock and ice fields, but also brush, alpine and wetland.

• Produces 80% of the commercial salmon harvested from Southeast Alaska. That’s 50 million salmon, valued at $60 million annually!

• 6.6 million acres is protected as Wilderness.

• Approximately 2,000 miles of road is open to public use (3,600 miles total).

Quick Facts

• Approximately 17 million acres.

• Largest, intact temperate rain forest in the world.

• Larger than 10 U.S. states (individually, not combined), including West Virginia, Maryland, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Vermont.

• 40% of the Tongass is non-forest land; mostly rock and ice fields, but also brush, alpine and wetland.

• Produces 80% of the commercial salmon harvested from Southeast Alaska. That’s 50 million salmon, valued at $60 million annually!

• 6.6 million acres is protected as Wilderness.

• Approximately 2,000 miles of road is open to public use (3,600 miles total).

Quick Facts

• Approximately 17 million acres.

• Largest, intact temperate rain forest in the world.

• Larger than 10 U.S. states (individually, not combined), including West Virginia, Maryland, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Vermont.

• 40% of the Tongass is non-forest land; mostly rock and ice fields, but also brush, alpine and wetland.

• Produces 80% of the commercial salmon harvested from Southeast Alaska. That’s 50 million salmon, valued at $60 million annually!

• 6.6 million acres is protected as Wilderness.

• Approximately 2,000 miles of road is open to public use (3,600 miles total).

Quick Facts

• Approximately 17 million acres.

• Largest, intact temperate rain forest in the world.

• Larger than 10 U.S. states (individually, not combined), including West Virginia, Maryland, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Vermont.

• 40% of the Tongass is non-forest land; mostly rock and ice fields, but also brush, alpine and wetland.

• Produces 80% of the commercial salmon harvested from Southeast Alaska. That’s 50 million salmon, valued at $60 million annually!

• 6.6 million acres is protected as Wilderness.

• Approximately 2,000 miles of road is open to public use (3,600 miles total).

Quick Facts

• Approximately 17 million acres.

• Largest, intact temperate rain forest in the world.

• Larger than 10 U.S. states (individually, not combined), including West Virginia, Maryland, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Vermont.

• 40% of the Tongass is non-forest land; mostly rock and ice fields, but also brush, alpine and wetland.

• Produces 80% of the commercial salmon harvested from Southeast Alaska. That’s 50 million salmon, valued at $60 million annually!

• 6.6 million acres is protected as Wilderness.

• Approximately 2,000 miles of road is open to public use (3,600 miles total).

Quick Facts

• Approximately 17 million acres.

• Largest, intact temperate rain forest in the world.

• Larger than 10 U.S. states (individually, not combined), including West Virginia, Maryland, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Vermont.

• 40% of the Tongass is non-forest land; mostly rock and ice fields, but also brush, alpine and wetland.

• Produces 80% of the commercial salmon harvested from Southeast Alaska. That’s 50 million salmon, valued at $60 million annually!

• 6.6 million acres is protected as Wilderness.

• Approximately 2,000 miles of road is open to public use (3,600 miles total).

Quick Facts

• Approximately 17 million acres.

• Largest, intact temperate rain forest in the world.

• Larger than 10 U.S. states (individually, not combined), including West Virginia, Maryland, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Vermont.

• 40% of the Tongass is non-forest land; mostly rock and ice fields, but also brush, alpine and wetland.

• Produces 80% of the commercial salmon harvested from Southeast Alaska. That’s 50 million salmon, valued at $60 million annually!

• 6.6 million acres is protected as Wilderness.

• Approximately 2,000 miles of road is open to public use (3,600 miles total).

Quick Facts

• Approximately 17 million acres.

• Largest, intact temperate rain forest in the world.

• Larger than 10 U.S. states (individually, not combined), including West Virginia, Maryland, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Vermont.

• 40% of the Tongass is non-forest land; mostly rock and ice fields, but also brush, alpine and wetland.

• Produces 80% of the commercial salmon harvested from Southeast Alaska. That’s 50 million salmon, valued at $60 million annually!

• 6.6 million acres is protected as Wilderness.

• Approximately 2,000 miles of road is open to public use (3,600 miles total).