Spires

The Spires area encompasses 533,746 acres of mountainous terrain in southeastern Alaska's Tongass National Forest, rising from sea level to alpine summits including Mount Burkett at 9,730 feet and Devils Thumb at 9,077 feet. The landscape is defined by its hydrology: the Lower Baird Glacier feeds into the Farragut River system, while the Patterson River, Cascade Creek, Scenery Creek, and its South Fork, along with Crystal Creek, Muddy River, Clear Creek, and Delta Creek, drain the high country and carve through the Buddington Range. These waterways originate in alpine snowfields and glacial melt, descending through steep valleys where they create the primary corridors of water movement across the region.

Elevation gradients create distinct forest communities stacked vertically across the landscape. At lower elevations, the Western Hemlock–Sitka Spruce Forest dominates, with dense understories of devil's club (Oplopanax horridus), salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis), and western skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanus) thriving in the moist understory. As elevation increases, this community transitions to the Mountain Hemlock–Sitka Spruce Forest, where the canopy opens slightly and western moss-heather (Cassiope mertensiana) becomes prevalent in the ground layer. At higher elevations, subalpine fir forest and Alaska yellow cedar (Callitropsis nootkatensis) appear, their growth increasingly stunted by exposure and cold. Above treeline, alpine tundra dominates the ridges and peaks, with sitka valerian (Valeriana sitchensis) and copperbush (Elliottia pyroliflora) anchoring the sparse vegetation. Muskeg peatlands occupy poorly drained areas throughout the region, their spongy surfaces supporting specialized plant communities adapted to waterlogged soils.

The area supports wildlife across multiple ecological niches. In the old-growth hemlock-spruce forests, the marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus), endangered (IUCN), nests in the high canopy and feeds in nearshore marine waters. American black bears (Ursus americanus) forage through the understory and along salmon-bearing streams, while moose (Alces alces) browse in subalpine meadows and along riparian corridors. Sooty grouse (Dendragapus fuliginosus) inhabit the transition zones between forest and alpine. In coastal waters and glacier-fed streams, harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) hunt Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) and other fish species. The federally endangered short-tailed albatross (Phoebastria albatrus) ranges across offshore waters, returning to distant breeding colonies. Western toads (Anaxyrus boreas) and rough-skinned newts (Taricha granulosa) occupy wetlands and stream margins, while columbia spotted frogs (Rana luteiventris) inhabit shallow ponds and slow-moving water.

Moving through the Spires landscape, a traveler experiences rapid ecological transitions. Ascending from the Farragut River or Patterson River valleys, the forest canopy closes overhead, light filtering through hemlock and spruce to illuminate the dense understory of devil's club and ferns. The sound of water is constant—creeks cascade down steep slopes, their roar intensifying as tributaries merge. As elevation increases and the trail climbs toward ridgelines like those near Agassiz Peak or Fulton Peak, the forest thins, hemlock giving way to stunted subalpine fir and patches of open moss-heather. The understory transitions from dense shrub to low herbaceous plants. Breaking treeline onto the alpine tundra, the landscape opens dramatically: wind-scoured ridges expose rock and sparse vegetation, and the view extends across the Buddington Range to distant peaks. The sensory shift is abrupt—from the enclosed, dripping darkness of the old-growth forest to the exposed, windswept clarity of the high country.

The Spires roadless area is the ancestral homeland of the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian peoples, who have continuously inhabited and stewarded these lands for more than 10,000 years. The Tlingit people are the primary historical inhabitants of the northern and central portions of the Southeast Alaska panhandle where this area is situated. Indigenous communities have historically used and continue to use these lands for hunting, fishing, and gathering. Pacific salmon, all five species of which have been a primary food source for over 9,000 years, sustained these populations along with Sitka black-tailed deer, bears, and mountain goats. The forest also provided red and yellow cedar used for traditional carving, including totem poles, canoes, and ceremonial masks. The area contains heritage resources—ancient stone tools, rock art, abandoned village sites, and geographic place names—that reflect oral histories maintained by tribal elders, such as "Flood" stories that link specific mountain peaks and landmarks to ancestral survival and migration. In Tlingit and Haida Indians of Alaska v. United States, the court found that the creation of the Tongass National Forest constituted a taking of land from the Tlingit and Haida people, who held aboriginal title through time-immemorial occupancy.

The Tongass National Forest was officially created by presidential proclamation issued by Theodore Roosevelt on September 10, 1907, under the authority of the Organic Administration Act of 1897, which allowed the president to reserve forest lands to protect water flows and furnish a continuous supply of timber. The forest had been preceded by the Alexander Archipelago Forest Reserve, established by Roosevelt on August 20, 1902. On July 1, 1908, the Alexander Archipelago Forest Reserve and the Tongass National Forest were consolidated into a single entity encompassing most of Southeast Alaska. Further presidential proclamations expanded the forest boundaries on February 16, 1909, June 10, 1909, and in 1925 by Calvin Coolidge. Formal legislation declaring it a national forest was signed into law in 1909. Historical mining prospects and developments are documented in the rugged terrain of Southeast Alaska, though no major industrial hubs or company towns were established within the Spires roadless area itself; industrial operations in the Tongass were historically concentrated around pulp mills in distant cities such as Ketchikan and Sitka.

Congress passed the Tongass Timber Reform Act in 1990 to protect specific areas from logging, particularly near salmon-spawning streams, and to cap timber harvests. In 2001, the Clinton administration enacted the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, protecting approximately 9.3 million acres of the Tongass from road building and logging. This rule has since been subject to repeated legal and political challenges. In 2003, the Bush administration exempted the Tongass from the Roadless Rule. A federal court vacated this exemption in 2011, reinstating roadless protections. In 2020, the Trump administration issued an Alaska-only rule that again exempted the Tongass from the Roadless Rule, opening 9.3 million acres to potential development. The Biden administration repealed this exemption in 2023, reinstating the 2001 Roadless Rule protections for the Tongass. In 2025, the USDA announced an intent to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule entirely.

The Spires roadless area is designated a 533,746-acre Inventoried Roadless Area within the Tongass National Forest, managed by the Petersburg Ranger District. Under the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, road construction and timber harvesting are generally prohibited. Modern tribal governments, including the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska and various village corporations, actively participate in the management and restoration of these lands, particularly in repairing salmon habitats damaged by historical industrial logging. The region today primarily supports the commercial fishing and tourism industries; the Tongass provides habitat for approximately 25 percent of the West Coast's salmon catch, and the Spires area contributes to the watershed health necessary for these runs.

Vital Resources Protected

Salmon and Steelhead Spawning Networks

The Spires area contains critical spawning habitat for all five Pacific salmon species, steelhead, and Dolly Varden across a network of interconnected streams including the Farragut River, Patterson River, and multiple tributaries. These fish depend on clean gravel substrates and cold water temperatures maintained by intact riparian forest and undisturbed streambanks. The roadless condition preserves the hydrological and thermal integrity of these drainage systems, which support both commercial and subsistence fisheries throughout Southeast Alaska.

High-Elevation Climate Refugia and Elevational Connectivity

The Spires area spans from sea level to alpine peaks exceeding 9,700 feet, creating a continuous elevational gradient across multiple forest types—from Western Hemlock-Sitka Spruce lowlands through Mountain Hemlock and Subalpine Fir zones to Alpine Tundra. This unbroken vertical connectivity allows species to shift their ranges in response to changing climate conditions without encountering barriers. The area's high peaks and subalpine forests serve as climate refugia where cooler temperatures and persistent snowpack currently buffer species from warming trends, particularly critical as yellow-cedar decline from reduced snowpack already threatens forest composition across the region.

Old-Growth Forest Interior Habitat for Wide-Ranging Carnivores

The Spires roadless area provides contiguous, unfragmented old-growth forest essential for Alexander Archipelago wolves and northern goshawks, both of which require large territories and are highly sensitive to habitat fragmentation and road density. The area's 533,746 acres of continuous forest canopy maintains the interior forest conditions these species depend on—wolves need extensive prey habitat and denning sites without human disturbance, while goshawks require large tracts of structurally complex old-growth for nesting and hunting. Roads fragment this habitat into isolated patches too small to support viable populations.

Peatland Hydrological Function and Carbon Storage

The Spires area contains extensive muskeg (peatland) ecosystems that regulate water flow, filter runoff, and store carbon at rates far exceeding other forest types. These wetlands are hydrologically connected to the surrounding forest and stream network; their proper functioning depends on intact water tables and undisturbed soil structure. The Tongass National Forest holds approximately 20 percent of all carbon stored in the U.S. National Forest System, and the Spires area contributes significantly to this carbon sink function—a role that is lost when peatlands are drained or disturbed.

Threats from Road Construction

Stream Sedimentation and Loss of Spawning Substrate

Road construction on steep mountainous terrain generates chronic erosion from cut slopes and fill failures that deliver fine sediment into the drainage network. This sedimentation smothers the clean gravel spawning beds that salmon, steelhead, and Dolly Varden require for egg incubation; even moderate increases in fine sediment reduce egg survival and emergence rates. In the Spires area's steep terrain, where roads would necessarily traverse slopes above streams, sediment delivery would be continuous throughout the life of the road, degrading spawning habitat across multiple tributaries simultaneously and making restoration difficult once spawning substrates are buried.

Canopy Removal and Stream Temperature Increase

Road construction requires removal of riparian forest along stream corridors to accommodate roadbeds, drainage structures, and sight lines. This canopy loss eliminates shade that maintains cold water temperatures essential for salmon and steelhead spawning and rearing. In Southeast Alaska's maritime climate, even modest temperature increases can exceed the thermal tolerance of cold-water fish species. The loss of riparian buffers is permanent on the timescale of fish population recovery—old-growth forest takes centuries to re-establish—meaning temperature increases would persist for generations after road construction.

Habitat Fragmentation and Loss of Elevational Connectivity

Roads create barriers and edge effects that fragment the continuous forest habitat wolves and goshawks depend on, reducing the effective size of their territories and isolating populations. More critically, roads and their associated clearings interrupt the elevational gradient that allows species to track shifting climate conditions. As temperatures warm, species must move upslope to find suitable habitat; roads and fragmented forest patches block this movement, trapping populations in warming lowlands. The Spires area's value as climate refugia is lost when its elevational connectivity is severed.

Peatland Drainage and Carbon Release

Road construction through muskeg requires fill material and drainage structures that disrupt the water table and hydrological connectivity of peatlands. Drained peatlands shift from carbon sinks to carbon sources, releasing stored carbon as CO2 and methane. Once peatland hydrology is disrupted, restoration is extremely difficult—water tables do not naturally recover, and the ecosystem may remain degraded indefinitely. Given the Spires area's significance as a carbon sink within a forest system holding one-fifth of all carbon in U.S. National Forests, peatland drainage represents a direct loss of climate mitigation function at a landscape scale.

The Spires Roadless Area encompasses 533,746 acres of mountainous terrain in the Tongass National Forest, featuring alpine peaks including Devils Thumb (9,077 ft) and Mount Burkett (9,730 ft), glacial river systems, and a mix of old-growth hemlock-spruce forest and alpine tundra. Access is by floatplane, boat, or foot—there are no roads into this area, and that roadless condition is essential to the recreation opportunities described below.

Hunting

The Spires area is managed within Game Management Unit 1B and supports populations of mountain goat, Sitka black-tailed deer, American black bear, and brown bear. Mountain goat hunting is the signature alpine hunt here, drawing hunters to the extreme vertical relief of peaks like Devils Thumb and Mount Burkett from August 1 through December 31. Sooty grouse inhabit the forest and subalpine zones (August 1 to May 15), while ptarmigan and snowshoe hare provide small-game opportunities. Brown bear seasons run September 15 to December 31 (fall) and March 15 to May 31 (spring); black bear season runs September 1 to June 30. Non-resident hunters pursuing brown bear or mountain goat must be accompanied by a registered big game guide. Access is by floatplane to alpine base camps, by boat via Thomas Bay or the Stikine River corridor, or by foot from tidewater. The roadless condition preserves the wilderness character and physical demand that define hunting here—there are no developed trails or camps, and hunters navigate by map and compass through unfragmented habitat.

Fishing

Cold headwater streams throughout the area support wild populations of Pacific salmon (Chinook, coho, sockeye, pink, and chum), steelhead, sea-run cutthroat trout, and Dolly Varden char. The Farragut River is a major anadromous system; the Patterson River is a glacial system supporting salmon and Dolly Varden; Clear Creek is known for coho salmon and rainbow trout in its upper reaches; and Cascade Creek and Scenery Creek support Dolly Varden and cutthroat trout. The Tongass emphasizes protection of wild, native fish populations—there are no hatchery stocking programs in this roadless area. Steelhead regulations are highly restrictive (often catch-and-release only or 1 fish per day, 2 per year, with a 36-inch minimum). Many small streams require artificial lures only to protect juvenile salmon and resident trout. Anglers access these streams by floatplane from Petersburg or Juneau, by skiff via Thomas Bay or Frederick Sound, or by hiking river corridors. The area is documented as remote with very low fishing pressure. Bear activity is high along salmon-bearing streams from July through September, requiring standard bear-safety protocols. The absence of roads means anglers reach these streams only by water or air, preserving the isolation and wild fish habitat that make this fishery valuable.

Birding

American goshawk, bald eagle, and spruce grouse are documented in the area. Bald eagles congregate near salmon runs in late summer along streams and coastal features like Devils Thumb and Farragut Bay. Marbled murrelet and Queen Charlotte goshawk are also present in Tongass roadless areas. The Spires area is part of the broader Southeast Alaska landscape used by migratory birds, though specific interior hotspots are not formally designated. Birding here is a dispersed activity associated with wilderness travel—there are no designated observation platforms or trails. Access is by maritime routes (kayaking or boating) to Farragut Bay or Thomas Bay, or by mountaineering approaches to the Buddington Range and Devils Thumb. The roadless condition preserves the interior forest habitat and undisturbed watersheds that support these species and the quiet necessary for observation.

Paddling

The Patterson River delta and Patterson Lake are the primary paddling destinations. Patterson Lake, a 2-mile glacial lake at the foot of Patterson Glacier, is accessed via a 10-mile roundtrip hike to the Patterson River, where kayaks are staged for paddling the lake and exploring the glacier. Floatplanes can also land directly on Patterson Lake. The Farragut River and Muddy River are used for guided paddling and transit. Cascade Creek's mouth in Thomas Bay serves as a launch point for kayaking the shoreline and nearby waters. The best paddling season is May through September. Boaters must be aware of glacial hazards, including unexpected flooding and icebergs in Patterson Lake. Access is by floatplane, by boat via Thomas Bay, or by hiking to staging areas. The roadless condition means paddlers reach these systems only by water or air, preserving the remote character and intact riparian habitat that define paddling here.