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TONGASS NATIONAL FOREST -- The federal government has designated a portion of the Tongass National Forest as an experimental forest.
The National Forest Service says the 25,000-acre Heen Latinee Experimental Forest, covering a 10-by-7-mile section of land 30 miles north of Juneau, stretches from glaciers to saltwater. A focus of research will be how climate change affects forest resources, including timber, carbon sequestration and salmon habitat. The nearly 17 million-acre Tongass covers most of Southeast Alaska and is the largest temperate rain forest in the world. Heen Latinee is a Tlingit name that means "River Watcher." The area will be part of a nationwide network of more than 80 experimental forests and grasslands.