These are images of the Cleveland Peninsula which was logged by the Sealaska Native Corporation in the 2010s. This clear-cut stretches for over 5000 acres, through valleys and over mountains. The State of Alaska has some of the worst environmental standards on earth and land privatization is now the biggest threat to the Tongass Rainforest. I captured these images while filming for Eden's Last Chance in summer 2019.
The Baby Brown Timber Sale north of Haines Alaska in the Chilkat valley is made up of over 1000 acres of pristine old growth hemlock forest. The state of Alaska has been trying to auction off this section of forest for years, in 2020 they succeeded in selling the rights to log this area for a measly $400,000 to a timber company in Oregon. The timber company eventually backed out of the deal due to the areas remoteness however there is good reason to think that the state of Alaska will keep pushing to clear-cut this forest. The initial minimum bid on the Baby Brown timber sale was only about $150,000, the whole point of this timber sale is to just cut for the sake of cutting, The state of Alaska would literally be receiving $150 per acre of old growth cut. Not $150,000, $150.
As of October 2022 there has been no new news about this timber sale being put up for auction.
