North Cleveland

North Cleveland is a 105,288-acre Inventoried Roadless Area within Tongass National Forest, occupying the northeastern portion of the Cleveland Peninsula in southeastern Alaska. The area encompasses both mainland terrain and offshore islands — notably Bell Island and Gedney Island in Behm Narrows — together with the uplands rising toward Table Mountain and Bald Mountain. Hydrology is major and multidirectional: freshwater drains through East Fork Short Creek, Wolverine Creek, Spring Creek, Walker Creek, and Short Creek into Bailey Bay and the interconnected inland lakes — Bell Island Lakes, Lake McDonald, Halfmoon Lake, and Lake Nellie. These drainages empty ultimately into Behm Narrows, a constricted tidal passage linking Behm Canal to the broader Inside Passage.

The forest mosaic across North Cleveland reflects the full range of Southeast Alaska forest types. Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) and western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) form the primary old-growth canopy on lower slopes and valley floors, with Alaska-cedar (Callitropsis nootkatensis) and mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) appearing at higher elevations and on moisture-saturated slopes. The understory shifts with drainage and elevation: devil's-club (Oplopanax horridus) and salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis) dominate in stream corridors and disturbed margins, while deer fern (Struthiopteris spicant) and twinflower (Linnaea borealis) persist under closed canopy. Yellow skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanus) marks the freshwater seeps and seasonally flooded flats. Where drainage is poor and the water table remains high, open bog communities develop: bog rosemary (Andromeda polifolia), small cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccos), roundleaf sundew (Drosera rotundifolia), English sundew (Drosera anglica), and black crowberry (Empetrum nigrum) characterize the wet, acidic mats alongside stairstep moss (Hylocomium splendens) and shaggy peatmoss (Sphagnum squarrosum). Menzies' burnet (Sanguisorba menziesii), listed as vulnerable by the IUCN, occurs in the area's coastal meadow and bog edge habitats.

Wildlife in North Cleveland reflects the area's productive confluence of forest, freshwater, and marine systems. Brown bear (Ursus arctos) and American black bear (Ursus americanus) range across the peninsula, moving between the beach and forest interior. Sandhill cranes (Antigone canadensis) use the open bog and meadow habitats on seasonal passage, and great blue herons (Ardea herodias) forage along stream mouths and tidal margins. Bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) nest in old-growth trees near shore and patrol the drainages feeding Bell Island Lakes and Bailey Bay. Common murres (Uria aalge) and black oystercatchers (Haematopus bachmani) use the rocky intertidal of Behm Narrows and the offshore islands. In the subtidal, giant Pacific octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini) and spot shrimp (Pandalus platyceros) occupy rocky-bottom habitat, and Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) feed in the deeper channels of Behm Narrows. Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are observed in the surrounding waters. Rough-skinned newts (Taricha granulosa) and western toads (Anaxyrus boreas) complete the area's amphibian community in wetland and forest-edge habitats. Portions of this area fall within the potential range of several federally listed species; see the Conservation section for details.

Moving through North Cleveland, the landscape transitions repeatedly between dense old-growth, where the canopy is tight and the floor is a deep carpet of moss and fern, and the open bog expanses where cotton-grass and sundews replace the trees entirely. Following Spring Creek or Walker Creek from the uplands toward Bailey Bay, the forest gives way at the shoreline to the tidal current of Behm Narrows, where the smell of brine and the call of oystercatchers replace the forest quiet.

The lands now designated as the North Cleveland Inventoried Roadless Area occupy the northeastern portion of the Cleveland Peninsula, bordering Behm Canal and Behm Narrows in the Ketchikan Gateway of southeastern Alaska. Like all lands along this stretch of the Inside Passage, the area was shaped by Indigenous presence long before any federal administration reached the region.

Tlingit peoples are the original inhabitants of southeastern Alaska's island and mainland coast. The Forest Service recognizes that this landscape "is predated by over 10,000 years of settlement by Alaska Natives before the first Europeans arrived." [3] The Tlingit built their livelihood from the sea — fishing for salmon, halibut, and cod, preserving surplus for winter, and following seasonal rounds that tied coastal villages to interior waterways. "Each Tlingit clan had exclusive fishing areas; infringement by others was grounds for war or retribution," and "the Tlingit established many villages along the panhandle." [1] The Cleveland Peninsula and the waters of Behm Canal were part of this landscape of interconnected clan territories.

Commercial enterprise reached the Ketchikan area in the late nineteenth century. A salmon cannery at Yes Bay, on the shore adjacent to the Cleveland Peninsula, first operated in 1889, passing through the hands of Pacific Packing and Navigation Company in 1901 and Northwestern Fisheries in 1904. [5] The U.S. Forest Service's first supervisor for the Alexander Archipelago Forest Reserve, William Langille, made Yes Bay his base of operations when conducting early forest patrols in the region. [4] The surrounding waters and inlets of Behm Canal supported this cannery economy alongside the copper mines and small sawmills that dotted the wider Ketchikan district in the early 1900s.

Federal reservation of these lands began in 1902 when President Theodore Roosevelt established the Alexander Archipelago Forest Reserve. [3] The Tlingit and Haida peoples contested the withdrawal, and in 1929 the Alaska Native Brotherhood passed a resolution to sue the U.S. government "for the creation of the Tongass National Forest and the Glacier Bay National Park without the permission of the Indigenous people of Southeast Alaska." [2] On September 10, 1907, the proclamation creating the Tongass National Forest was issued, and on July 1, 1908, the Alexander Archipelago and Tongass reserves were consolidated into a single forest of 6,756,362 acres, bringing the Cleveland Peninsula under unified management. [4]

The U.S. Court of Claims ruled in 1959 that "the Tlingit and Haida Indians did have original use and occupancy, and asserted dominion from time immemorial, over all lands and waters in Southeast Alaska which they had claimed; and that the United States must make fair payment for those lands withdrawn to create the Tongass National Forest." [2] In 1968, the court awarded the Central Council of Tlingit & Haida $7.5 million in compensation. [2]

Timber production grew as a defining economic force across the Tongass throughout the twentieth century. During World War II, the Alaska Spruce Log Program mobilized Tongass timber for military aircraft construction. [3] In 1951, the Forest Service entered the first of two fifty-year timber contracts with a pulp mill in Ketchikan — the Ketchikan Pulp Company — anchoring large-scale industrial logging to the wider region for decades. [3] The North Cleveland Inventoried Roadless Area, now protected under the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, encompasses the 105,288 acres that escaped full industrial conversion through this period.

Vital Resources Protected

Cold Headwater Stream Integrity and Riparian Function

North Cleveland's roadless condition preserves the undisturbed headwaters and stream channels of East Fork Short Creek, Wolverine Creek, Spring Creek, Walker Creek, and Short Creek — all draining through intact old-growth forest before reaching Bailey Bay and Behm Narrows. In the absence of road construction, these drainages maintain natural channel structure, bank stability, and the cold, clear flow that sustains aquatic invertebrate communities and fish populations. The interconnected lake chain — Bell Island Lakes, Lake McDonald, Halfmoon Lake, and Lake Nellie — stores freshwater that passes through riparian corridors lined with old-growth spruce and hemlock. This hydrological integrity is directly linked to the productivity of Behm Narrows and Bailey Bay, where harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) forage in waters influenced by freshwater discharge from these drainages.

Old-Growth Forest Structure and Alaska-Cedar Habitat

The 105,288 acres of North Cleveland include significant stands of Alaska-cedar (Callitropsis nootkatensis, IUCN: G4), a species facing range-wide stress from a climate-linked decline associated with reduced snowpack and spring root freeze. Logging and road construction are documented threats to Alaska-cedar populations (IUCN threat categories 5.3.1 and 5.3.2), and the species faces additional pressure from disease (8.2.2, named species). The roadless condition preserves the old-growth structural complexity — multi-aged stands, snags, downed wood — that Alaska-cedar and associated understory species like clasping twisted-stalk (Streptopus amplexifolius) require. Brown bear (Ursus arctos) and American black bear range through this forest mosaic, with road construction documented as a direct threat to bear movement corridors (threat 4.1) through collision risk and habitat avoidance.

Wetland and Bog Community Integrity

Open bog and wetland habitats — characterized by roundleaf sundew (Drosera rotundifolia), English sundew (Drosera anglica), small cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccos), beaked sedge (Carex utriculata), narrowleaf cotton-grass (Eriophorum angustifolium), and Menzies' burnet (Sanguisorba menziesii, IUCN: vulnerable) — occupy the poorly drained terrain between the forested uplands and the tidal margins. These wet habitats support the western toad (Anaxyrus boreas) and rough-skinned newt during breeding season and maintain the hydrological function that sustains the lake chain through dry periods. Roadless conditions prevent the drainage alteration and hydrological disruption (threat 7.2) that road fill and grading inflict on these seasonally saturated systems.

Potential Effects of Road Construction

Sedimentation into Cold Headwater Drainages

Cut-and-fill road construction on the steep terrain draining into East Fork Short Creek, Wolverine Creek, and Spring Creek would mobilize fine sediment from exposed cut slopes and road surfaces. Chronic sediment loading smothers the coarse gravel substrate in these drainages, reducing invertebrate habitat and disrupting the cold, oxygenated conditions these streams currently maintain. Culverts installed at stream crossings fragment aquatic connectivity and create passage barriers that are difficult to remove once infrastructure is established.

Hydrological Disruption of Bog and Wetland Systems

Road construction through the low-gradient terrain surrounding Bell Island Lakes, Lake Nellie, and the associated wetland systems would alter local drainage by intercepting and redirecting surface flow. Ditching, fill, and impervious surface reduce the water retention that bog communities require. Western toads (threat 4.1: roads as direct mortality risk), beaked sedge, and small cranberry are all documented as sensitive to road-associated hydrological disruption; once drained, bog communities require decades or centuries to reestablish.

Edge Effects and Invasive Species Access

Road corridors through North Cleveland's intact old-growth and bog mosaic would introduce edge conditions — increased light, altered moisture, wind exposure — that favor invasive and opportunistic species over the interior forest and wetland specialists currently present. Invasive non-native species are a documented threat to beaked sedge, few-flower sedge, and western toad in this system (threat 8.1). Road surfaces function as dispersal pathways for invasive plants, moving propagules from access points into the interior at a rate that unroaded dispersal cannot match.

North Cleveland is a 105,288-acre Inventoried Roadless Area within Tongass National Forest on the northeastern Cleveland Peninsula, accessible by boat, floatplane, or road from Ketchikan. Three maintained trails provide access into the interior lake country: McDonald Lake Trail (52745, 1.7 miles), Shelokum Lake Trail (52701, 2.1 miles), and Reflection Lake Trail (52731, 2.3 miles). All three are designated for hiker use on native-material surfaces. A short shelter spur (52745A) serves the McDonald Lake Trail. No developed campgrounds are maintained within the area.

Hiking and Lake Country Access

The McDonald Lake, Shelokum Lake, and Reflection Lake trails lead from the coastline into the interior lake systems of North Cleveland. McDonald Lake is part of the connected chain that includes Bell Island Lakes, Lake McDonald, Halfmoon Lake, and Lake Nellie — a series of freshwater bodies linked by drainages moving through old-growth spruce-hemlock forest. The trails traverse terrain where Sitka spruce, western hemlock, and mountain hemlock form the overstory, and salmonberry and devil's-club fill the understory openings. The shelter on the McDonald Lake Trail spur provides an overnight option for hikers moving through the lake country in wet conditions.

Freshwater Fishing

The lake chain and connected drainages — McDonald Lake, Bell Island Lakes, Halfmoon Lake, and Lake Nellie — offer freshwater fishing. East Fork Short Creek, Wolverine Creek, Spring Creek, and Walker Creek drain the uplands into this system. Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) and sculpin are present in the marine waters near the area's shoreline access points. Visitors should consult current Alaska Department of Fish and Game regulations before fishing.

Marine Wildlife Viewing

Bailey Bay and Behm Narrows provide marine wildlife viewing access from the area's coastal margins. Harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) haul out along the rocky shore and near the mouths of Short Creek and Walker Creek. Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are observed in Behm Narrows and surrounding waters. Bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) nest in old-growth trees along the shore and patrol the lake drainages, and great blue herons (Ardea herodias) forage at stream mouths and tide flats. Common murres (Uria aalge) and black oystercatchers (Haematopus bachmani) use the intertidal rocky habitat on Gedney Island and Bell Island. Sandhill cranes (Antigone canadensis) appear in open bog and meadow areas seasonally.

Hunting

Both American black bear (Ursus americanus) and brown bear (Ursus arctos) inhabit the North Cleveland area. Snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) are present in forest edge habitats. All hunting is subject to Alaska Department of Fish and Game regulations and applicable Tongass National Forest land use rules. Access is primarily by boat or floatplane to the shoreline, with the trail network providing inland access from landing points.

Backcountry Character

The three maintained trails in North Cleveland remain hiker-only on native surfaces — no motorized use, no developed parking, no constructed campgrounds. This low-development model means visitors encounter the full transition from old-growth forest to open bog to tidal shoreline without the road-corridor modifications that characterize developed recreation areas. The lake chain accessible via McDonald Lake and Reflection Lake trails exists in this undisturbed condition specifically because the surrounding watershed has not been opened to road-based industrial access. Road construction would bring sedimentation into these lake systems, edge effects along trail corridors, and the infrastructure pressure that typically follows roaded access — converting what is currently a quiet, productive backcountry lake fishery and wildlife corridor into a roaded resource extraction zone.