Insights from a Harvest Trip Model for Non-Timber Forest Products in the Interior of Alaska. Research Note.

摘要

The harvest of non-timber forest products (NTFP) for personal uses such as hobbies and handicrafts, cooking and canning, and recreation is an important pursuit for many residents in Alaska (Pilz and others 2006). Five categories of NTFP have been designated by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization: (1) foods; (2) medicinal plants; (3) floral greenery and horticulture products; (4) fiber and dye plants, lichens, and fungi; and (5) oils, resins, and chemicals extracted from plants, lichens, and fungi (McLain and Jones 2002). As noted by Alexander and others (2002), interest in the harvest and use of NTFP has grown in the United States. Such products are harvested from forests throughout the United States (McLain and Jones 2002). While attention has been directed toward commercial aspects of NTFP use and harvest, cultural, religious, and social considerations are also important (Jones and Lynch 2002). The harvest of NTFP in Alaska is largely unregulated outside of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, which protects subsistence and rural harvesting rights at the Federal level, and a few State laws. However, within Alaska there has been some movement toward increased regulatory oversight Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Mining, Land, and Water, the agency responsible for the permitting of commercial NTFP harvest on Alaska State land, has proposed regulatory changes and developed a Non-timber Forest Products Harvest Manual (AKDMLW 2008) to guide commercial harvest practices. Decisions about regulating (or not regulating) the harvest of NTFP should be grounded in an understanding of the extent of the activity as well as factors that influence the number of harvest trips.