Tongass Sustainable Trails Strategy

Tongass Sustainable Trails Strategy

From fall 2020 through spring 2023, Alaska Trails worked with the U.S. Forest Service and community partners to craft a Sustainable Trails Strategy for the Tongass National Forest. This project sought to create a set of shared priorities and establish the stronger partnerships needed for an improved, more sustainable set of trails in the Tongass. The process and products of this project were loosely based on Alaska Trails’ Statewide Trails Investment Strategy released in the spring of 2020. This process offered an exciting opportunity for the USFS to hear from communities in Southeast Alaska as they shared their priorities for trails and recreation. With the plan now finalized, the focus switches to how best to use the information and insights gathered.

This presentation focuses on findings specific to the Tongass, big takeaways from the process of crafting the strategy and ways in which a community-focused planning process could be replicated in conjunction with other land managers.

In addition, partners from the region speak about existing trail projects in SE AK, several of which are included as recommendations in the TSTS.