Tongass Tongass

Discover common plants and animals Lin the Tongass National Forest

United States Department of Agriculture

together!

Explore 

wMark Meyer
Are you ready to 

explore the Tongass 

National Forest? 

Fun Facts

The Tongass...

... is the largest 

national forest

... has two icefields

Jennifer Seely

Jen Christopherson

Brian Logan

... has 5,000 miles of 

rivers and streams that 

support wild salmon

Take this guide outside on your next adventure and see how many plants and 

animals you can find. You can discover different plants and animals across the 

Tongass National Forest. This booklet only includes the most common of each.

As you explore the Tongass National Forest, 

try to figure out how different plants and 

animals might be connected. Plants and 

animals depend on each other and the 

places they live. Look for this symbol 

to discover these connections. 

Find a plant or animal 

not included in the book? Check 

out the back page to add your 

own notes and drawings. 

Arctic Tern

Black Bear

Tongass National Forest

(in the United States of America)

Canada

Town or village

Safety First

...so plan and prepare 

 before you go.

• Be prepared for changing 

 weather conditions.

• Help may be very far away

 so prepare before you go.

• Always be aware of your 

 surroundings and give 

 wildlife plenty of space.

map key

Pacific

Ocean

2
Moss & Lichens

Common Witch’s Hair

There’s no surprise how this lichen got it’s 

name... it looks like a witch got her hair 

caught in a tree! Not only is it great for 

Halloween costumes, Sitka black-tailed deer 

eat this lichen in the winter to survive.

looks like 

a leaf

loosely 

attached

looks like a lot 

of little pompoms

branching leaves 

underneath

looks like 

tangled 

string

These lichens 

don’t like polluted 

air. If you find lots 

of them, what does 

that tell you about 

the air around you?

Lung Lichen

Lung lichen grows on trees 

in really wet forests. Gently 

touch the lichen - does it 

feel like stiff leather? 

Stair Step Moss

The flat parts (segments) grow off of each 

other like steps on a staircase. This moss 

grows one new step each year. How old is 

the moss that you see? 

about the size 

of the palm of 

your hand

Karen Dillman Karen Dillman

pale 

yellowgreen

hangs 

from 

trees

Peat Moss/Sphagnum Moss

Feel the moss. Do you notice how soft 

it is? Peat moss can absorb A LOT of 

water, like a sponge. 

segments grow 

horizontal to 

the ground

flat segments 

segment (step) 

3
Bob Armstrong

WILDFLOWERS

Fireweed

Flowers bloom at different times on the stem, 

starting at the bottom and ending at the top. 

Locals know the end of summer is coming when 

the fireweed finishes blooming.

Nootka Lupine

Lupines take nutrients in 

the air and put them in 

the soil, which helps other 

plants grow. 

Goatsbeard

It can grow up to 6 feet tall! If you 

see goatsbeard, is it shorter or taller 

than you are?

dark pink to 

purple flowers

flowers grow in clusters 

up the red stem

Skunk Cabbage

Pee-yew! It smells bad like a skunk! Why the gross 

smell? The flower attracts pollinators, like flies, and 

keeps some animals from eating it. 

giant green 

leaves

yellow 

hood

large pointed 

leaves

clusters of 

tiny white 

flowers

pea-shaped 

flowers are 

purple with 

white accents

long 

clusters 

of flowers

clusters of 

5-8 narrow 

oval leaves

USDA Forest Service

tiny greenish-yellow 

flowers on a spike

4
Berries

Blueberries

Berries from different bushes can 

taste differently, so sample a few 

bushes before you choose your 

picking area. Watch for bears, who 

love blueberries, too!

Red Elderberry

While elderberries are only edible for 

humans if they’ve been cooked, crows 

and other birds love eating them raw.

Baneberry

These berries are POISONOUS. Berries, 

leaves, and roots can make you throw up 

and die!

small, light green 

leaves that turn 

reddish in fall

blue 

berries

smooth, glossy 

and red berries raggedy 

small, edges

bright red 

berries in clusters

long 

pointed 

leaves

WARNING: Do NOT pick or 

eat anything without an expert’s 

permission. Some berries in the 

forest are poisonous.

Berries start green and 

ripen to red or white. 

Salmonberry

Look familiar? They are related to raspberries 

but come in red and golden orange.

three sharplytoothed 

leaflets

raspberry 

shape

orange or 

reddish berries

1 2

3

Jen Christopherson

Bob Armstrong

5
Deciduous Trees 

Willow

Willows are a good place to find 

wildlife. Look for birds hopping 

between willow branches 

searching for bugs to eat. 

Alder (Sitka and Red)

The Sitka alder is a shrub and the 

red alder is a tree. Alders need open 

space to grow, so you often find them 

along trail edges and road shoulders. 

Can you find any along a trail?

Black Cottonwood

Black cottonwood like to grow 

near water. Feel the flattened 

leaf stalks, which catch the wind 

and make the leaves flutter back 

and forth on a breezy day.

thick, bright green leaves

heart-shaped 

leaves with 

sharply 

pointed tips

seed pods 

covered in white, 

fluffy hairs

long leaves

Willow seeds hidden 

in thick fluff

oval 

leaf pointed 

tip and 

serrated 

edges

small green cones 

are often mistaken 

for berries

Q: What does deciduous mean? (Answer at bottom of page.) 

Deciduous - a tree that loses it’s leaves each year before the winter. A: 

Bob Armstrong

6

shrub
Needle-leaf Trees

Sitka Spruce

 If you shake hands with a spruce, 

beware of its spiky needles! 

Despite its prickly reputation, 

spruce is a good food source for 

many animals, especially red 

squirrels who eat the seeds found 

between the scales of the cones.

Cedar (Alaska Yellow-cedar 

and Western Redcedar)

Cedar needles look and feel more like 

scales. These scaly cedar branches

are a winter food source for Sitka 

black-tailed deer.

Spiky Spruce!

needles stick out in 

all directions

pointy tips

flat and scaly 

leaves

Scaly Cedar!

short needles

rounded edges

flat 

needles

Happy Hemlock!

Laurie Lamm

Hemlock (Western and Mountain)

If you shake hands with a hemlock, you’ll be happy 

to find its flat needles have rounded ends. Many 

animals hide in hemlock’s shady branches. These 

branches make good places for animals like 

squirrels to build nests.

7
Mammals & Fish

Black Bear

Black bears use their short, sharp claws to 

climb trees. Sows also send their cubs up 

trees as a babysitting strategy.

Brown Bear

Their strong shoulders allow them 

to dig for bugs, plant roots and 

other food. 

Sockeye Salmon

Sockeye salmon are one of five types of salmon found 

on the Tongass. The other four are Chum, King, Silver, 

& Pink.

Salmon are born in fresh water, migrate to the ocean, 

and then return to freshwater to spawn. 

straight face 

profile

taller 

ears

no shoulder 

hump

dished 

face 

profile

short, round ears

shoulder 

hump

bright red 

body

green head

Bear Safety

1. BE A NOISY HIKER

Hike in a group and sing or talk so you don’t 

surprise a bear. Make up a fun song!

2. GIVE BEARS SPACE

Don’t approach a bear - watch from a distance. 

Both black bears and brown 

bears vary in color from from 

blonde to brown to black.

spawning 

adult

Sitka Black-tailed Deer

Deer eat many different kinds of plants, 

including some that other animals don’t 

like to eat, like skunk cabbage.

black 

tail

stocky 

body

shorter than 

most other 

black-tailed 

deer

Brown Bear

Black Bear

deer track

USDA Forest Service

8
Red Squirrel

Find out where red squirrels 

have been hanging out by finding 

one of their middens.

Beaver

Beavers are the largest rodent in North 

America and, like all rodents, their teeth 

never stop growing. Gnawing on trees and 

branches helps file down their teeth. 

Porcupine 

Porcupines are rodents, too! Their quills are 

modified hairs that are soft when they are 

born, but then quickly harden. One of their 

favorite foods is willow leaves.

white 

belly

small

deep brown 

furry coat

wide flat 

tail

quillcovered 

tail

quills spiky looking 

hair

Look for trees that 

beavers have gnawed on.

midden - a large pile of cones 

squirrels build to store their food

rusty

 body

thick 

neck

brown coat

large and 

muscly body

big front flippers

external

ears

Steller Sea Lion

Look for large groups of sea lions lounging on rocky 

outcrops along the shores of the Tongass. After looking 

for food underwater, sea lions need these rocky places, 

called haul-outs, to rest. A haul-out where sea lions 

mate and give birth to pups is called a rookery.

Jen Christopherson

Michael Mengak

9
white 

head

white tail

dark brown 

body

wing span 

up to 7.5 

feet

Common Merganser

Mergansers have a serrated (toothed) 

bill to catch aquatic insects and small 

fish while diving.

Birds

Bald Eagle

Immature (young) eagles are dark 

brown. A bald eagle doesn’t have 

bright white head feathers until it 

is about five years old. There are 

more bald eagles in Alaska than in 

anywhere else in the US. Ravens 

are larger 

than 

crows

Adult 

Female

maroon ‘mohawk’

grey and 

white body

white 

body

green head

black back

thick beak black body

Adult Male

Raven

Ravens are scavengers, and will 

eat just about anything. They love 

elderberries in late summer! Ravens 

are playful and very smart. They 

are able to solve complex problems.

serrated bill

(on both female 

and male)

Jen Christopherson

10
Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Chickadees are tough little birds! 

They gather together in flocks to survive 

cold Alaskan winters. In the spring, 

they use animal fur to make cozy nests 

for their young.

Glaucous-winged Gull

Glaucous-winged gulls eat just about 

anything. They will often steal food 

from other birds and swallow large prey 

whole, even sea stars!

Steller’s Jay

Steller’s jays are smart, noisy birds and great 

imitators. They can give a perfect imitation of 

a red-tailed hawk to make other birds scatter. 

They can even sound like a marmot.

black cap

white cheeks

chesnut 

back

grey 

body

immature 

(young) gull

grey wing tips, 

unlike most 

gulls whose 

wing tips are 

black or white 

dark 

head

blue 

body

medium 

sized 

body

white 

stripe 

on side

red head 

and chest

Red-breasted 

Sapsucker

Have you seen any tree 

trunks with holes drilled 

in a neat row or grid? 

Sapsuckers drill holes 

in tree bark and let 

the sap ooze out. They 

love licking the sap and 

eating insects that are 

attracted to the sap.

Jen Christopherson

Bob Armstrong

Bob Armstrong

11
Kate Mohatt

Interested in discovering 

even more plants and 

animals in the Tongass 

National Forest? 

Forest Service rangers 

are happy to suggest more 

in-depth field guides for the 

area.

Nature Notes 

Find a plant or animal not included in the book? Add it on this page. 

This is your field guide so add notes, thoughts, and sketches.

Forest Service Alaska Region R10-RG-232 April 2018

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

Produced by the Tongass National Forest and designed by Elise Wahl, Timberdoodle Studio.