224 



FIGURE 2. A high-volume old-growth forest in southeastern Alaska. 



P»r, ^-3 lift 



FIGURE 3. A seventy-year-old second-growth forest in southeastern Alaska. 



again at rotation age, generally ninety to 

 125 years. In Alaska, information to date 

 suggests that the benefits to deer of silvi- 

 cultural management (e.g., thinning 

 second growth) are marginal (Alaback 

 and Tappeiner 1984) and the costs are 

 high. 



Though an array of habitat choices is 

 available to deer in southeastern Alaska, 

 these habitats vary in their ability to meet 



the changing seasonal requirements of 

 deer. During the summer and early fall, 

 deer in Alaska use a variety of habitats 

 including clearcuts, alpine, and low- and 

 high-volume old-growth forest. 

 Throughout winter and early spring, 

 however, deer use old growth almost 

 exclusively. And during winters with 

 deep snow, deer prefer high-volume old 

 growth over all other habitat types 

 (Schoen et al. 1985). 



The major reason for this selective use is 

 related to a forest stand's ability to 

 intercept snow. In low-volume stands 

 with small trees and an open canopy, 

 snow depths on the ground greatly reduce 

 forage availability. Snow interception by 

 the tall broad canopy of high-volume 

 stands is much greater, resulting in lower 

 snow depths and more available forage 

 for deer (Kirchhoff and Schoen 1987). 



Though high-volume old growth is 

 important deer habitat, these same stands 

 are also the most valuable for timber 

 production. In the last three decades, the 

 timber harvest in southeastern Alaska has 

 focused on the relatively rare high- 

 volume old growth (Hutchison and 

 LaBau 1975), and this trend is 

 continuing. In the next forty years, while 

 only 5 percent of the low-volume stands 

 are scheduled to be cut, about half of the 

 remaining high-volume stands are 

 scheduled for logging (U.S. Forest 

 Service unpubl. data). This selective 

 harvest will have significant long-term 

 impacts on natural forest diversity and 

 deer populations. 



For example, more than three quarters of 

 the commercial forest land in the Hawk 

 Inlet watershed on Admiralty Island is 

 scheduled for harvest over the next ICX) 

 years (Rideout et al. 1984). We predict 

 that this level of cutting over the next 

 century will reduce deer in Hawk Inlet to 

 less than 20 percent of their current level 

 (Schoen et al. 1985). In die next 100 

 years, if timber harvest proceeds as 

 scheduled, deer populations Uiroughout 

 southeastern Alaska will be substantially 

 reduced, along with hunting and viewing 

 opportunities. Clearly the ability to 

 maintain moderate to high population 

 levels of Sitka black-tailed deer in 

 southeastern Alaska is dependent on 

 providing an abundance of high-quality 

 old-growth winter habitat. 



Other Wildlife Species 



More than 350 species of birds and 

 mammals occur in southeastern Alaska 

 (Sidle and Suring 1986), and many make 

 substantial use of old-growth forests 



140 Natural Areas Journal 



Volume 8 (3), 1988 



