The Framework Committee met in Ketchikan on July 23rd. The agenda for the meeting covered the collaborative unit pool project for Staney Creek, the 5-year timber schedule, sales in litigation, including an explanation of the deer model, the Integrated Resource Management Planning process and the sale appraisal process. Materials from the meeting will be posted on the website when they become available at www.tongassfutures.net/5yearschedule. The next meeting of the committee will be August 20th in Juneau. The committee will be looking to complete its summer work and make preparations to report back to the full Roundtable at the October meeting in Yakutat.

The Tongass Futures Roundtable, in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy and the Sitka Conservation Society, is sponsoring a wood biomass energy conference for October 29-30 in Sitka’s Centennial Building.  The purpose of the workshop will be to detail the opportunities for use of wood for energy use in Southeast Alaska.  With the prohibitively high cost of electricity in communities without hydroelectric power and the high cost of fuel for heating homes and buildings, cost effective, alternative solutions are critical to the future of the region.  This workshop will provide information to community leaders, government officials, investors, and interested residents on the solutions available through the use of wood biomass.  An agenda for the workshop will be posted soon.