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Letter of Support From the, USDA Forest Service Washington OfficeForests are more accessible than ever due to increasing populations, changing economies and technologies, and a growing trend in urbanization of rural places. As our urbanized society continues to expand across rural landscapes, outdoor recreation is quickly becoming the primary means for connecting people to the land.Demand for outdoor recreation opportunities on public and private forests and grasslands in the U.S. is rapidly increasing. This demand is not only for more opportunities, but also for a more diverse array of recreational activities, facilities, and services. Today's land managers are struggling to meet visitor expectations, and face the added challenge of protecting ecological systems impacted by large numbers of recreation users.Recreation managers need the best science-based information available to help them appropriately design and administer outdoor recreation opportunities, and address recreation use impacts in an increasingly complex management environment.

Privately owned forests provide many public benefits, including clean water and air, wildlife habitat, and recreational opportunities. By 2030, 44.2 million acres of rural private forest land across the conterminous United States are projected to experience substantial increases in residential development. As housing density increases, the public benefits provided by private forests can be permanently altered. We examine factors behind projected patterns of residential development and conversion of private forest land by 2030 in northwestern Washington, southern Maine, and northwestern Georgia. Some key factors affecting the extent of future residential housing include (1) population growth from migration into an area; (2) historical settlement patterns, topography, and land ownership; and (3) land use planning and zoning.

Demographic trends suggest that despite having many unique geographic, climatic, and physical characteristics, southeast Alaska exhibits many social conditions and trends similar to those statewide, as well as in the greater UnitedStates and nonmetropolitan United States. Much variation exists at the community level, however, when measuring change in population and income in southeast Alaska. In the last decade, tourism has been one of the fastest growing components of Alaska's economy and an important source of export-based income. Natural resource management and use in Alaska will affect and will be affected by trends in tourism growth and activities.Keywords: Tourism, community change, demographic trends, southeast Alaska, Tongass National Forest. Two social science studies completed as part of the follow-on studies are summarized here. A study of tourism and its effects in three southeast Alaska communities is available in a separate document (Cerveny 2005). An overview of the various social science studies, including work on subsistence, traditional ecological knowledge, and social acceptability of timber harvest practices is available (Kruger 2005) as are economic studies (Crone 2005, Mazza 2004). The two studies presented here focus on tourism and social change. Although much of the data only go through 2002, we think this information is important, and documenting it here will provide a reference point for future work on this topic. Findings from these studies were provided in draft form for managers to use in planning and decisionmaking.The chapters include a discussion of management implications along with suggestions for further study. As the predominant land manager in the region, the U.S. Forest Service is interested in identifying social and economic trends, realizing that agency decisions have local implications. Because many tourist activities take place on, or within sight of the Tongass National Forest, the way in which natural resources are managed will affect this industry. Additionally, much of the tourism in southeast Alaska can also be classified as recreation, a management objective for national forests articulated in the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960. Nonresident visitors 2 GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-653and Alaska residents alike spend time hiking, camping, fishing, boating, hunting, and viewing wildlife in the Tongass National Forest. Policy decisions to build infrastructure, such as campgrounds and trails, or to grant permits for activities such as flight-seeing will influence tourism development, and hence, the social economy of southeast Alaska.The Tongass National Forest contributes to a livelihood and lifestyle for residents of southeast Alaska and provides adventure and solitude for Alaskans and nonresident visitors. Therefore, forest management decisions can have wide-ranging effects on Alaskan residents and visitors. Trees harvested from the Tongass sustained a substantial wood products industry for many years; however, with shifting global markets and mill clo...

AuthorsLinda E. Kruger is a research social scientist, Forestry Sciences Laboratory, 2770 Sherwood Lane, Suite 2A, Juneau, AK 99801; and Rhonda L. Mazza is a science writer, Forestry Sciences Laboratory, 620 SW Main St., Portland, OR 97205.The Forest Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is dedicated to the principle of multiple use management of the Nation's forest resources for sustained yields of wood, water, forage, wildlife, and recreation. Through forestry research, cooperation with the States and private forest owners, and management of the National Forests and National Grasslands, it strives-as directed by Congress-to provide increasingly greater service to a growing Nation.The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program.