Redoubt

The Redoubt Inventoried Roadless Area encompasses 68,347 acres in the Tongass National Forest along the outer coast and interior bays of southwest Baranof Island, Alaska. Terrain spans from low-lying island groups — Golf Island, Gornoi Island, the Necker Islands, and Caution Island — to interior summits including Mount Longenbaugh, Eureka Mountain, The Pyramids, and Mount Dranishnikof. The primary hydrologic corridor connects Redoubt Lake and Salmon Lake through Salmon Creek and Kizhuchia Creek, both draining toward the Gulf of Alaska, while the Dranishnikov River flows northeast toward Sitka Sound. Birdsnest Bay, Mielkoi Cove, Samsing Cove, Sevenfathom Bay, and Herring Bay form the marine boundary, with Cape Burunof and Povorotni Point at the outermost headlands.

The dominant forest type is Sitka Spruce–Western Hemlock (Picea sitchensis–Tsuga heterophylla) forest on lower slopes, with devil's club (Oplopanax horridus) and oval-leaf blueberry (Vaccinium ovalifolium) in the understory and stairstep moss (Hylocomium splendens) across the forest floor. Mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) and Alaska-cedar (Callitropsis nootkatensis) replace Sitka spruce at upper elevations, transitioning to subalpine parkland on exposed ridges. Saturated flats support lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) bog forest and open muskeg, characterized by bog labrador tea (Rhododendron groenlandicum) and round-leaved sundew (Drosera rotundifolia). Copper-flower (Elliottia pyroliflora) occurs at streamside seeps; Alaska holly fern (Polystichum setigerum, Vulnerable) and white bog orchid (Platanthera dilatata, Vulnerable) grow in wet forest understory and boggy margins.

The marine-terrestrial boundary supports a concentrated assemblage of species. Sea otters (Enhydra lutris, Endangered) forage in rocky reef habitats within the sheltered coves; Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus, Vulnerable) use exposed headlands. Pinto abalone (Haliotis kamtschatkana, Endangered) occupy subtidal rock surfaces; sunflower sea stars (Pycnopodia helianthoides, Critically Endangered), formerly keystone predators on sea urchin populations, have been severely reduced by sea star wasting disease throughout this region. Coho, pink, and chum salmon ascend Kizhuchia Creek and Salmon Creek annually. Marbled murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus, Endangered) require large-diameter old-growth trees for nesting while commuting daily to coastal foraging areas. Black oystercatchers (Haematopus bachmani) and pigeon guillemots (Cepphus columba) breed on rocky islets; trumpeter swans (Cygnus buccinator) use the area's lakes during migration. Brown bear (Ursus arctos) concentrate at salmon streams in fall; mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus) occupies the upper terrain. Portions of this area fall within the potential range of several federally listed species; see the Conservation section for details.

The Salmon Lake/Redoubt Lake Trail (Trail 31566, 5.1 miles) provides the primary foot route into the interior, following Salmon Creek through hemlock-spruce forest. Coastal margins are accessible by small watercraft; paddling between Cape Burunof and Samsing Cove brings the transition between old-growth forest edge and tidal margin into close view.

The Redoubt roadless area occupies the forested interior of Baranof Island in the Sitka Ranger District of the Tongass National Forest. Its hydrology bears the marks of history: Dranishnikov River, Mielkoi Cove, Kizhuchia Creek, and Lake Irina carry Russian-era names from the period when Baranof Island served as the center of Russian America. The Sheey At'iká Kwáan—the Sheet'ká Tlingit, whose name for their island refers to the outer branches of the spruce tree—have occupied Baranof Island since time immemorial [2]. The Sheet'ká Kiks.ádi clan held the most prominent political position among the Sitka Tlingit, governing their people's presence on the island and its surrounding waters for centuries before European contact.

Russian contact began in the late eighteenth century as the Russian American Company expanded its fur trade operations along the Alaska coast. In 1799, Aleksandr Baranov established the Russian trading post known as Old Sitka on the northeast coast of Baranof Island [3]. Three years later, in 1802, Tlingit warriors launched a coordinated assault and destroyed the Russian post [1]. Baranov organized a counteroffensive with the Russian sloop Neva under Commander Iurii Lisianskii, landing forces at Sitka in October 1804 [1]. The Sheet'ká Kiks.ádi, led by their war chief K'alyáan and defending the fort of Shís'gi Noow at the mouth of Indian River, repelled the initial Russian assault—wounding Baranov himself—but were ultimately deprived of their gunpowder reserve by an accidental explosion [1]. The Kiks.ádi executed a tactical withdrawal known as the Survival March, departing to the east side of Chichagof Island [1]. The Russians occupied the site, renamed it Novoarkhangel'sk (New Archangel), and made it the capital of Russian America [1]. The Sheet'ká Kiks.ádi maintained a years-long blockade of Russian commercial traffic before returning to live adjacent to the Russian fortifications in 1822.

Russia ceded Alaska to the United States in 1867. Federal management of the island's forest resources followed. In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt established the Alexander Archipelago Forest Reserve, which included Baranof Island and the surrounding landscape [3]. The Tongass National Forest was formally established by presidential proclamation in 1907 [3].

The most significant transformation of the Baranof Island forest came in October 1957, when the U.S. Forest Service signed a fifty-year timber contract with Alaska Lumber and Pulp Company, Inc. (ALP), committing 5.25 billion board feet of timber from Baranof Island and portions of Chichagof Island [4]. Alaska Lumber and Pulp had been incorporated in 1953 as a joint venture with the Japanese parent firm, Alaska Pulp Company, Ltd., as Japan sought timber to support postwar reconstruction [4]. ALP constructed a pulp mill in Sitka with an initial capacity of 340 tons per day, completed in November 1959 at an approximate cost of $66 million—the first major foreign investment made by Japan after World War II [4]. The mill operated until the Alaska Pulp Corporation suspended operations at the end of September 1993; the long-term timber contract was terminated by the U.S. Forest Service in April 1994 [4]. The Redoubt roadless area retains the old-growth forest that remained outside the harvest footprint of that four-decade operation.

Vital Resources Protected

• Cold-Water Anadromous Stream Integrity: Kizhuchia Creek and Salmon Creek drain from the Redoubt Lake and Salmon Lake headwaters through unroaded watersheds to the outer coast. In roadless condition, these streams retain stable banks, coarse woody debris inputs from old-growth forest, and spawning substrate free of chronic sedimentation. Coho, pink, and chum salmon depend on this watershed structure; Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) aggregate in the marine bays at the stream mouths, forming the base of a food web that extends to harbor seals, humpback whales, and colonial nesting seabirds.

• Old-Growth Forest Integrity for Marbled Murrelet Nesting: The Redoubt area retains old-growth Sitka spruce and western hemlock stands containing large-diameter trees with the deformed branches and moss platforms that marbled murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus, Endangered) require for nesting. Murrelets nest singly on such platforms and may commute many miles to coastal foraging areas. Logging under the Alaska Pulp Corporation contract (1957–1994) converted old-growth across large areas of Baranof Island; the Redoubt roadless area preserves a significant remnant of this nesting habitat on the island.

• Marine-Terrestrial Interface and Intertidal Integrity: The network of bays — Birdsnest Bay, Mielkoi Cove, Samsing Cove, Sevenfathom Bay, and Herring Bay — represents intact marine-terrestrial interface habitat where undisturbed uplands preserve intertidal and nearshore conditions. Pinto abalone (Haliotis kamtschatkana, Endangered) occupy subtidal rock surfaces in these coves; their recovery from historical overharvesting depends on undisturbed nearshore water quality and substrate. Sunflower sea stars (Pycnopodia helianthoides, Critically Endangered) — already severely reduced by sea star wasting disease — require intact rocky reef habitat free of additional stressors. Sea otters (Enhydra lutris, Endangered) forage in the kelp beds and rocky reefs throughout these coves, with foraging quality directly dependent on the benthic structure that undisturbed uplands help maintain.

Potential Effects of Road Construction

• Sedimentation and Salmon Stream Degradation: Road construction on the steep coastal terrain of southwest Baranof Island would generate cut slopes with chronic erosion, delivering fine sediment to Kizhuchia Creek and Salmon Creek through surface runoff and mass wasting events. Sedimentation embeds spawning gravels, reducing dissolved oxygen supply to eggs and eliminating benthic invertebrate habitat in the stream substrate. Road stream crossings require culverts that create fish passage barriers; culvert failure in high-rainfall coastal Alaska environments is common and can isolate migrating salmon from upstream spawning reaches.

• Old-Growth Canopy Removal and Murrelet Nesting Habitat Loss: Road construction in old-growth forest requires canopy clearing in road corridors and typically enables timber harvest on adjacent stands. Marbled murrelet nesting habitat requires trees of old-growth size and structure — characteristics that take centuries to develop and are permanently eliminated in a single harvest entry. Edge effects created by road corridors increase predation pressure on murrelets throughout interior stands adjoining newly opened access.

• Nearshore Water Quality and Intertidal Disturbance: Road construction on slopes adjacent to the coves would increase turbidity and sediment delivery to nearshore habitats. Pinto abalone and sunflower sea stars — both critically reduced across their range — are sensitive to sedimentation that buries the rocky substrates they require. Increased turbidity also reduces the foraging efficiency of sea otters throughout the cove system. Short-tailed albatross (Phoebastria albatrus), listed as Endangered under the Endangered Species Act, forage in offshore waters of this region; vessel traffic associated with road-enabled industrial operations increases collision risk for this rare pelagic seabird.

Trails and Hiking

The Salmon Lake/Redoubt Lake Trail (Trail 31566, 5.1 miles) is the primary hiking route into the Redoubt area, beginning at the Salmon Lake Trailhead outside Sitka and following Salmon Creek through old-growth hemlock-spruce forest to Salmon Lake. The Kizhuchia Creek Road (Trail 317582, 0.8 miles) provides limited foot access along Kizhuchia Creek. The Thimbleberry/Heart Lake Trail provides access to the coastal margin near Sitka. No maintained campgrounds exist within the area; dispersed camping is available in appropriate locations.

Fishing

Kizhuchia Creek and Salmon Creek support coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), pink salmon (O. gorbuscha), and chum salmon (O. keta) runs accessible from the Salmon Lake Trail corridor. The marine bays — Birdsnest Bay, Mielkoi Cove, Samsing Cove, and Herring Bay — offer access to lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus), copper rockfish (Sebastes caurinus), quillback rockfish (S. maliger), and black rockfish (S. melanops) along rocky reef habitat. Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) aggregate in the protected bays and are targeted by both subsistence and commercial fishers in the Sitka area.

Wildlife Viewing

The marine-terrestrial interface of the Redoubt area provides consistent opportunities to observe sea otters (Enhydra lutris) foraging in kelp beds within the coves. Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) and harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) use exposed headlands and haul-outs throughout the area. Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are seasonally present in the offshore waters beyond Cape Burunof and Povorotni Point. Brown bear (Ursus arctos) concentrate along Kizhuchia Creek and Salmon Creek during salmon runs in late summer and fall. Mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) occupy the upper terrain of Mount Longenbaugh, The Pyramids, and adjacent summits.

Birding

The Redoubt area lies within the birding sphere of Sitka, which eBird records as hosting 239 species across 1,400 checklists — the most active birding location in Southeast Alaska. The Thimbleberry Trail, which borders the area near Sitka, has 66 species recorded across 88 checklists, including harlequin duck (Histrionicus histrionicus) and common loon (Gavia immer). Black oystercatchers (Haematopus bachmani) and pigeon guillemots (Cepphus columba) breed on rocky islets and headland outcrops within the area. Rhinoceros auklets (Cerorhinca monocerata) and common murres (Uria aalge) forage in the offshore waters. Trumpeter swans (Cygnus buccinator) use the area's lakes and estuaries during migration and winter. Bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) are present year-round; golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) have been recorded on the upper terrain.

Sea Kayaking

The coves and bays of the Redoubt area — Mielkoi Cove, Samsing Cove, Birdsnest Bay, Sevenfathom Bay, and Herring Bay — are accessible by sea kayak from Sitka. These protected waters, framed by old-growth forest to the shoreline, offer close-range wildlife viewing of sea otters, breeding seabirds, and marine mammals within a coastal landscape largely undisturbed by roads or upland development.

The Roadless Condition

The trail corridor's backcountry character and the creek system's angling quality depend directly on the area's unroaded condition. Kizhuchia Creek and Salmon Creek drain unroaded slopes; the water clarity and stable banks that anglers and spawning salmon both depend on are products of an undisturbed watershed. The cove system's value for sea kayaking and marine wildlife viewing depends on the absence of road-related sedimentation and industrial activity in the draining uplands. The interior old-growth habitat that marbled murrelets require for nesting, and that brown bear use throughout the salmon season, remains intact because road construction and associated logging have not reached these drainages.