Timber audit highlights problems on two Tongass sales Posted by Joe Viechnicki | Feb 2, 2021 Logs are transported from the road system to water on Kupreanof Island near Petersburg in 2013. (Joe Viechnicki/KFSK) An internal audit by the U.S. Forest Service says the federal agency mismanaged two timber sales. The report blames pressure to meet timber harvest targets. Mistakes meant $2 million less for habitat restoration work on the Tongass National Forest. Auditors also found the sales failed to outline planned restoration work and potentially violated conflict of interest rules among other findings. The August 2020 internal agency audit found problems with oversight and administration of two large timber sales on the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska. It only saw the light of day after Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility sued for it. Jeff Ruch, Pacific director of the Maryland-based watchdog group said the report only tells part of the story.