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“World Class Treasure” video series on the Tongass National Forest

Posted by Phil Sammon, US Forest Service public affairs in Forestry
Nov 23, 2010
Alaska and brown bears are virtually synonymous, and this young bear shows he is as curious about visitors to Alaska as they are of him. (US Forest Service photo)
Alaska and brown bears are virtually synonymous, and this young bear shows he is as curious about visitors to Alaska as they are of him. (US Forest Service photo)

Mention to anyone that you traveled to or lived in Alaska, and they are immediately drawn to you with questions and curiosity. Even today Alaska embodies the pioneer spirit that drove generations of Americans to explore, tame and settle our great nation. The USDA Forest Service anticipates that type of attention to the dynamic segments they are posting to the USDA Forest Service Youtube channel beginning this week that highlight the features, resources, livelihoods and people who live in and around the Tongass National Forest.

The Forest commissioned this series in 2006 as part of its Strategic Vision to increase awareness of the successes the Forest Service has attained in managing the 17-million-acre treasure. The goal of the productions was to capture and represent the collaborative nature of living, working and conserving the natural resources and cultural heritage of southeast Alaska.

Federal conservation and management projects in Alaska’s southeast date back to the late 1890s. In that 120-year period of federal management, everything that is known to have lived in this area still lives here, according to information in this first segment. There are many other facts about the Tongass and the Forest Service there that may surprise you.

The video project includes 10 total segments and an introductory segment titled “Shades of Green”. Each segment builds on the next in terms of knowledge and background for the viewer as it introduces them across some 500 miles of what many call the most dynamic landscapes on earth. The entire series of segments was filmed in high-definition video and produced by KTOO television in Juneau, Alaska.

Keep watching the USDA Forest Service Youtube channel and follow the agency on their Twitter account and the USDA Facebook page for the release of the other segments over the next several weeks.

A massive field of fireweed covers the ground across this open expanse of landscape at the foot of one of hundreds of mountain peaks across southeast Alaska and the Tongass National Forest. (US Forest Service photo)
A massive field of fireweed covers the ground across this open expanse of landscape at the foot of one of hundreds of mountain peaks across southeast Alaska and the Tongass National Forest. (US Forest Service photo)
The sun streaks into the dense forest, shadowing and illuminating an old growth stand on the Tongass National Forest, the largest in the US Forest Service system of managed public lands. (US Forest Service photo)
The sun streaks into the dense forest, shadowing and illuminating an old growth stand on the Tongass National Forest, the largest in the US Forest Service system of managed public lands. (US Forest Service photo)
Category/Topic: Forestry