Quantifying the Monetary Value of Alaska National Forests to Commercial Pacific Salmon Fisheries

Abstract

Forested landscapes support a diversity of ecological processes and organisms having direct value to society. Assessments placing monetary value on forest processes and organisms can help inform management actions affecting these ecosystem services. The temperate rain forest ecoregion along the west coast of North America is home to five species of Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. that support subsistence, personal‐use, sport, and commercial fisheries. This study aimed to quantify the number and monetary value of commercially caught Pacific salmon originating from Alaska's Tongass and Chugach national forests, two adjacent national forests containing some of the world's largest remaining tracts of intact temperate rain forest. The proportion of commercially harvested wild Pacific salmon originating from streams and lakes within national forest boundaries was estimated by subtracting hatchery salmon and salmon originating outside national forest areas from the total commercial catch. The Tongass and Chugach national forests were major contributors to the overall number and value of commercially caught Pacific salmon in southeastern and southcentral Alaska. From 2007 to 2016 these national forests contributed an average of 48 million Pacific salmon annually to commercial fisheries, with a dockside value averaging US$88 million (inflation adjusted to the base year 2017). These “forest fish” represented 25% of Alaska's commercial Pacific salmon catch for this time period and 16% of the total commercial value. These findings emphasize the importance of Alaska's forest rivers and lakes for sustaining Pacific salmon and can contribute to discussions about alternative land management strategies that might impact Pacific salmon populations and associated commercial salmon fisheries.

A Classification of Streamflow Patterns Across the Coastal Gulf of Alaska

“…The thousands of watersheds that border the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) comprise a largely pristine and diverse range of streams (O'Neel et al, 2015) that discharge 25% more freshwater than the Mississippi River from a drainage area only one seventh the size (Beamer et al, 2016;Dai et al, 2009). These streams provide critical ecosystem services such as abundant drinking water, hydroelectric power, and reliable fisheries for local and global food production (Johnson et al, 2019;Schoen et al, 2017). For example, in Southeast Alaska over 95% of electricity comes from hydropower facilities constructed in coastal watersheds (McDowell Group, 2016), and since 1985, rural residents of Southeast Alaska harvested on average over 50,000 salmon per year for noncommercial uses (ADFG, 2018).…”

The Importance of Alaska for Climate Stabilization, Resilience, and Biodiversity Conservation

“…Maintaining multiple populations with diverse responses to environmental fluctuations within a landscape provides greater ecological resilience to threats and stochastic events (Schindler et al, 2010). The Tongass and Chugach National Forests in southeastern and southcentral Alaska represent some of the largest tracts of intact rainforest in the world (Orians and Schoen, 2017) and these forests support diverse and productive Pacific salmon fisheries (Johnson et al, 2019). Intact landscapes support habitat diversity allowing, for instance, the peak migration timing of the same species in nearby streams to vary by 3 weeks or more due in part to temperature differences.…”

“…The persistence of salmon and their supporting habitats has sustained the connection between Alaskans and salmon for over 10,000 years (Halffman et al, 2015). In contemporary times, salmon support multi-billion industries in Alaska through harvest by commercial fishermen and recreational anglers (Johnson et al, 2019). Salmon are harbingers of climate change and are increasingly observed in Arctic regions where Indigenous Peoples have little or no experience interacting with salmon (Dunmall et al, 2013) and where community reception to the newcomers is mixed (Carothers et al, 2019).…”

Independent validation of downscaled climate estimates from a coastal Alaska watershed using local historical weather journals

“…The success of culturally and economically valuable fish populations in Alaska such as Pacific salmon ( Oncorhynchus spp.) is inextricably tied to flow regimes ( Schoen et al, 2017 ; Johnson et al, 2019 ); therefore, having access to high-quality climate information is critical for resource managers and users to assess habitat conditions over time and the potential for future change.…”