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We have implemented a Geographic Information System (GIS) to help our team of 

 professional resource specialists and the public analyze data on the 

 Tongass--our largest National Forest. Implementing GIS has not been without 

 difficulties, but we have made significant progress, and the results are now 

 paying big dividends. 



For example, we are now better able to predict changes in wildlife and fish 

 habitat capability that could occur as a result of resource management 

 activities. New wildlife and fish habitat capability models have been jointly 

 developed by professional biologists from the Forest Service, Alaska Department 

 of Fish and Game, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service. Our predictions for fisheries habitat show that capability 

 will be maintained or enhanced under various resource management options. 







New stream inventories have been or are being completed. Studies relating to 

 projected demands for recreation, timber, subsistence use, fish, and wildlife 

 are also underway. New research results are also being incorporated. Based on 

 this new information, the draft Environmental Impact Statement will describe 

 and evaluate alternative ways to manage all the resources of the Tongass- - f ish , 

 wildlife, wilderness, timber, and recreation. 



We have reached an important milepost in the Tongass plan revision process. 

 "Understanding the Past ... Designing the Future" is a new publication that 

 provides the public with a non- technical overview of resource relationships, 

 opportunities, and limitations on the Tongass National Forest. Copies of 



