Why We Need the Tongass 77

At 17 million acres, the Tongass is our nation’s largest national forest and one of the few remaining temperate rainforests in the world.  One third of the remaining temperate rainforest in the world can be found in the Tongass – these are trees that grow nowhere else in the world, including Sitka spruce, Alaska yellow cedar and western red cedar. Often referred to as the “Inside Passage,” the Tongass covers the majority of the southeast Alaskan panhandle, and beneath its majestic canopy the forest is bursting with wildlife – some of the largest remaining populations of brown (grizzly) and black bear, eagles and salmon thrive within the forest – and it is here that southeast Alaskans still live a traditional life off of its lands and waters.

Sweetheart Creek – a Tongass 77 watershed

The lifeblood of the Tongass’ ecosystem are the 5,500 salmon- and trout-filled streams and rivers that are integral to the Tongass’ web of life, and as you will see, the best way to protect these streams and rivers is on the watershed scale. Land-based predators not only feed on the salmon themselves, but the carcasses they drag into the forest decompose and feed the trees and plants as well. In fact, scientific research has produced evidence of marine nutrients from salmon helping to feed and support the trees – the Tongass truly is America’s salmon forest!

If protecting the most vital and high-value salmon streams and wildlife habitat in the Tongass is our goal, then the Tongass 77 Proposal is the solution.  The Tongass 77 is a proposal based on the best science available – researchers spent five years using state-of-the-art GIS and conservation planning software to identify the 77 watersheds they consider to be the “best of the best” for fish and wildlife habitat. They analyzed hundreds of Tongass watersheds that are not currently protected, and those identified as the “best of the best” include habitat where the most diverse and dense populations of salmon species thrive, and are typically areas where the largest trees grow.

The Economy of Southeast Alaska

Tourism and commercial fishing are the top two economic drivers in southeast Alaska – they provide 25% of total employment and contribute $2 billion in annual revenue to the region’s economy.  The long-term viability of these two industries relies on a healthy Tongass National Forest, so ensuring that the Tongass and its watersheds remain biologically intact and sustainably managed will help safeguard the region’s local economies moving forward.

Outdoor recreation activities like hunting, angling and wildlife-watching are abundant in the Tongass, and the opportunity to participate in them attracts tourists from all over the world.  Dozens of tourism companies offer these sorts of activities to their clients, over 100 of which have signed on to a pledge supporting a sustainable Tongass – after all, over one million visitors come to visit the Tongass each year. According to the 2012 report Economic Impact of Visitors to Southeast Alaska, visitor-related spending supports an estimated 10,000 full- and part-time jobs in southeast Alaska and contributes $1 billion to southeast Alaska’s economy.

The fishing industry also provides an important source of employment and income for thousands of fishermen and business owners in southeast Alaska. According to a study commissioned by Trout Unlimited, southeast Alaska salmon and trout support a $968 million industry that includes local commercial, sport, hatchery and subsistence fisheries, and provides approximately 11% of the region’s employment. In 2011, southeast Alaska produced the largest salmon harvest in the state, as fishermen hauled in a total of 73.5 million fish worth in excess of $200 million dollars. The wild salmon spawned and reared in the Tongass National Forest represent approximately 70 percent of all wild salmon harvested from our national forests and about 30 percent of the salmon caught on the West Coast of the United States.

We Can Protect the Most Valuable Watersheds in the Tongass

The 77 high-value watersheds identified in the Tongass 77 proposal are currently open to development activities that could seriously harm the local salmon populations. The Tongass 77 proposal is based on the idea that holistic watershed protection, including vital streams, rivers and waterways throughout the Tongass, would preserve healthy salmon stocks, and the forest, plants, animals and people who depend on salmon for their livelihood or subsistence.

A way to achieve this needed protection of fish production would be federal legislation that places these watersheds into a land designation designed to protect vital fish habitat while allowing access for responsible tourism and recreation.  This new designation should prohibit activities like mining, logging and road construction, while ensuring that these areas remain open for traditional gathering, fishing, hunting and recreational use.  By protecting essential salmon habitat today the Tongass can escape the fate of fisheries in the Pacific Northwest and continue to be available for future generations to enjoy.

Further Reading:

Economic Impact of Visitors to Southeast Alaska 2010-11 (August 2012)

Economic Contributions and Impacts of Salmonid Resources in Southeast Alaska (July 2010)

The Tongass National Forest: Recreationalists’ Paradise and Wildlife Lover’s Dream

Map of the Tongass 77 Priority Salmon Watersheds: (Below)

Alaska Wilderness League staff traveled to the Tongass and captured but a few images to share its breathtaking beauty with the rest of the world. Check them out, and then, as Edward Abby suggests, consider geting out into nature and snapping a few of your own!

So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space.

Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much; I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk-bound men and women with their hearts in a safe deposit box, and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this; You will outlive the bastards. 

- Edward Abbey

Alaska Wilderness League staff traveled to the Tongass National Forest and captured these photos to share its breathtaking beauty. We hope you enjoy and can even get out into nature and snap a few of your own! Like Alaska Wilderness League on Facebook for more photos of our adventures.

Salmon, bears and whales all call the majestic old growth trees and pristine waters of the Tongass home. Help them out by submitting a public comment urging the U.S. Forest Service to stop ramping up old-growth timber sales. Demand a sustainable management plan before the Tongass’ ancient trees — and the salmon and other wildlife that rely on them — are gone. Alaska Wilderness League will deliver your public comments in person!

Top notch, cream of the crop, our go-to’s . . . any of these phrases could easily describe what our best volunteers mean to Alaska Wilderness League, but we don’t think any of those terms are enough, so we came up with our own: Alaska Wilderness League Guardians. We are pleased to announce this brand new program designed to recognize you, engage you, and most of all thank you for all you do to keep Alaska wild – our elite corps of amazing volunteers.

As a Guardian, you will have the opportunity to assist Alaska Wilderness League by participating in a number of high level actions, including: hosting a house party or fundraiser, acting as a district captain to help generate calls and emails to decision makers on an issue when needed, finding and working tabling opportunities in your area and monitoring news coverage for topical stories and submitting letters to the editor when able. While these activities may be ones you have already participated in, the new Guardian program will better track all the work you do to help Alaska Wilderness League as well as give you access to more in depth program information and special activities. Each Guardian will have a dedicated staff member who will be in contact with them personally, answering all questions and providing materials when needed.

Take the pledge.

While wild salmon stocks in many parts of the world are in peril, Alaska represents a place where these magnificent fish still return in such abundance that the numbers are staggering and nearly impossible to comprehend. The Bristol Bay watershed is one of the top places in the world for abundant and healthy wild Alaska salmon runs.

Come hear presenters speak about how Pebble Mine would affect the environment, wildlife, and the livelihood of the people living and working in the area.

6:30PM – Social and Refreshments
7:00pm – Program and Q&A

Presenters:
Scott Hed – Sportsman’s Alliance for Alaska
Dave Rogotzke – Commercial Bristol Bay Fisherman
Adam Jackson – Sport Fishing Guide
Bob White – Sport Fishing Guide

LOCATION:

Lynnhurst Recreation Center
1345 Minnehaha Pkwy. W, Minneapolis, MN 55419

For more information:
Phone: 612 370-4914
Fax: 612 929-2216

When: Friday, April 26  through the evening of Sunday, April 28
Where: Midwest Mountaineering 309 Cedar Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55454
More information…

We need you to attend a public hearing – location and date information below – and share your stories about how you use these lands. In the draft plan BLM is proposing to open much of the area to mining and oil and gas development, which is not compatible with how residents use these amazing recreational, historic and scenic areas.

Please attend a public meeting to let BLM know these areas are too special to develop. Points you can make at the meeting include:

• Alternative B is the best management option for all four subunits
• A hard rock mineral leasing program within the White Mountains National Recreation Area is not compatible with the current recreational and habitat protection uses
• BLM does not have enough data or information to make informed management decisions about much of these areas
• Maintain mineral withdrawals until BLM has sufficient knowledge of the areas to make sound management decisions
• And, don’t forget to share your passion and personalized stories of how you use these lands!