U.S. Forest Service - Tongass National Forest

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U.S. Forest Service - Tongass National Forest The Tongass National Forest sustains the lands and people of Southeast Alaska, managing 16.7 million acres of public lands.

RTs, follows, mentions do not equal endorsement. The Tongass National Forest sustains the lands and people of Southeast Alaska, managing 16.7 million acres of public lands to protect its unique ecological values while supporting a robust, diverse economy for the 75,000 people who call the Tongass home. The National Forest Foundation, chartered by Congress, engages Americans in community-based and national programs that promote the health and public enjoyment of the 193-million-acre National Forest System, administers private gifts of funds and land for the benefit of the National Forests. http://www.nationalforests.org/

The Forest Service manages a system of 155 national forests, 20 national grasslands, and 222 research and experimental forests, as well as other special areas, covering more than 192 million acres of public land. The Forest Service has evolved into a 30,000 employee agency that manages the national forests for a number of multiple uses, including recreation, timber, wilderness, minerals, water, grazing, fish, and wildlife.

THANK YOU for your continued interest in the world's largest, intact temperate rainforest! And thank you for sharing tha...
10/23/2026

THANK YOU for your continued interest in the world's largest, intact temperate rainforest!

And thank you for sharing that interest with your friends.

10/22/2026

HOST WITH THE MOST AWARD


There’s a party in this bear’s behind and the invite list looks long. Seeing bears with a tapeworm is not uncommon at Anan but seeing one bear with multiple long tapeworms … yikes!

Tapeworms are long, flat, and live in the intestines of mammals to absorb the nutrients they obtain. While tapeworms don’t tend to affect a healthy bear much, it’s not exactly a comfortable accessory.

Nature isn’t always pretty.

10/22/2026

CPS AWARD - DORY


Dory had two cubs this year, but half the time you wouldn’t know she was a mom at all. She earned her name from the forgetful blue fish in Finding Nemo and she lived up to it by occasionally wandering off without her cubs. Our Rangers were tempted to call Child Protective Services for how often those cubs ended up alone!

And later in the season, Dory came back to the creek without cubs. We don’t know what happened, but motherhood in the wild is hard.

10/21/2026

Forest Products Week 2026 Spotlight: Nanocellulose!

What happens to small diameter waste wood from forests? Research at the Forest Products Laboratory is finding new and innovative ways to transform these materials into nanocellulose products. From strengthening cement to extending shelf life of food, the lab is turning forest byproducts into high-performance materials of tomorrow.

WORST AT HIDE & SEEK AWARD - OSSO'S CUB This little furball is one of Osso’s cubs, and it stole our Rangers’ hearts. It ...
10/20/2026

WORST AT HIDE & SEEK AWARD - OSSO'S CUB


This little furball is one of Osso’s cubs, and it stole our Rangers’ hearts. It looked like it wanted to play hide and seek but couldn’t fully grasp the concept. Our Rangers were glad the cub was bad at the game, because it meant they saw it more.

10/20/2026

Yakutat District Ranger Nate Catterson, under authority delegated by the Federal Subsistence Board, is closing the 2026 Federal subsistence moose season for that portion of Unit 5A west of the Dangerous River, except the Nunatak Bench, effective Oct. 17, 2026, at 11:59 p.m.

Learn more:

10/19/2026

MAMA BEAR AWARD - OSSO


The term “Mama Bear” comes from the extreme, fearless aggression mother bears show if they sense any danger to their young. Osso is a prime example of this.

Feeding and watching out for three cubs was more than a full-time job, especially with so many other bears about. Scuba Sue, a female brown bear, got too close for comfort on this occasion and Osso didn’t hesitate before sending her cubs up a tree and taking a swipe at Sue. Not all heroes wear capes, some pop their jaws and raise their claws.

Unfortunately, sometime in August, she was seen with only two cubs. While we don’t know what happened to one of them, we assume she did her best to protect them all.

Tatonka was a presence around Anan for years. He won best attendance in the Anan Bear Awards last year, showing up at th...
10/17/2026

Tatonka was a presence around Anan for years. He won best attendance in the Anan Bear Awards last year, showing up at the falls more than any other bear. Our Rangers were anxiously awaiting his arrival this season, but he never came.

If he’s gone for good, the Anan staff will miss him. His broken jaw from an old fight made him easy to spot, and he was one of the largest black bears around.

The Forest Service published the draft record of decision for a timber project on Prince of Wales Island, opening a 45-d...
10/17/2026

The Forest Service published the draft record of decision for a timber project on Prince of Wales Island, opening a 45-day objection filing period. The proposed action is expected to produce approximately 26.4 million board feet of timber from 1,783 acres, generate up to $6.54 million in labor income, and support an estimated 111 to 119 jobs.

Learn more: https://buff.ly/12Ha7xn .

10/16/2026

Our live cams caught something special this September when a wolf visited the falls. Only a handful of people have seen one at Anan in person, so we are lucky to have the cameras, or else we could have been accused of crying wolf!

Huge thanks to T3 and Explore.org for helping install and host the livestreams, making this extraordinary place (and all its wildlife) accessible to anyone.

DYK? Wrangell has a healthy population of alexander archipelago wolves.

Address

648 Mission Street
Ketchikan, AK
99901

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 8am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 8am - 4:30pm
Thursday 8am - 4:30pm
Friday 8am - 4:30pm

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+19076172063

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