The federal government has designated a portion of the Tongass National Forest as an experimental forest.

The National Forest Service says the 25,000-acre Heen Latinee (heen la-TEE'-nee) Experimental Forest, covering a 10-by-7-mile section of land 30 miles north of Juneau, stretches from glaciers to saltwater.

A focus of research will be how climate change affects forest resources, including timber, carbon sequestration and salmon habitat.

The nearly 17 million-acre Tongass covers most of southeast Alaska and is the largest temperate rain forest in the world.

Heen Latinee is a Tlingit name that means "River Watcher. The area will be part of a nationwide network of more than 80 experimental forests and grasslands.