Like Wild Salmon? Protect the Tongass!
- by: Sitka Conservation Society
- recipient: Senator Murkowski, Senator Begich, Undersecretary Sherman and Chief Tidwell
To protect wild Alaska Salmon, you must protect the Tongass National Forest. Giant moss-covered spruce, hemlock and cedar trees spread throughout the forest. Five species of salmon return to the streams and rivers each year to spawn. Nearly 200 plant and animal species depend on the lush rainforest and at least 50 animals feed directly on the salmon.
For thousands of years, salmon played a key role for the peoples of the Tongass. Now, over 7,300 Alaskans depend on the health of salmon that come from the Tongass. The economic value of commercial, sports, and subsistence salmon fishing is nearly $1 billion. Some of those salmon find their way into stores and restaurants of towns and cities across the country.
Management of the Tongass is at a critical crossroads. Industrial logging is a thing of the past, yet the Forest Service has yet to reflect that shift in their land management programs or in their budget. Decision makers need to hear from you now and understand that habitat restoration and salmon conservation are essential for the Tongas National Forest and wild salmon.
For more information, visit www.sitkawild.org.
We, the undersigned, ask you to ensure the U.S. Forest Service implements watershed restoration and salmon habitat conservation programs to protect salmon populations of the Tongass. In 1907, the Tongass National Forest was established because Southeast Alaska salmon fishermen wanted to responsibly manage the salmon resources. Today, the Tongass National Forest is the largest national forest in the United States and the largest old growth forest on the entire planet. It is home to nearly 200 different species, five of which are world famous.
King, Coho, sockeye, chum and pink salmon depend on 17,690 miles streams, lakes, and ponds of the Tongass National Forest and more than 50 terrestrial species feed on that salmon. Salmon are inextricably linked with the Tongass. The well being of one directly impacts the other. Southeast Alaska residents also depend on the health of the Tongass.
Over 7,000 men, women, and young people work on fishing vessels or in processing plants in Southeast Alaska. In some communities, salmon are the local economy. Grocers, restaurants, hotels, cold storages and transport systems all flourish with healthy salmon runs. The combined economic value of commercial, sports, and subsistence salmon fishing, plus hatchery operations, is nearly $1 billion. Southeast Alaska is a salmon economy.
Throughout the 1960s and up until 1994, it was different. There was a concentrated timber industry within the Tongass. The river and valley stream systems, which provides critical habitat for pacific salmon, became the preferred routes of access into the old growth southeast forests. The closure of the pulp mills in Ketchikan, Wrangell and Sitka resulted in the direct loss of approximately 1,200 jobs. Many of these unemployed individuals entered the commercial fishing sector, while others joined the sport charter industry. In either case, they rely on rebuilding and protecting critical salmon habitat that was degraded during the timber era.
Unfortunately, the Forest Service does not yet recognize that massive shift of the work force. The Forest Service spends approximately $25 million annually on timber and road building, yet only $1.5 million annually on fisheries, watershed and salmon restoration. According to a recent Trout Unlimited economic analysis, timber and road building generates approximately 1% of regional employment, whereas, salmon and trout fisheries employ over 10% of the local residents.
We ask you to ensure that the Forest Service Budget reflects that dependency on the health of the Tongass and to prioritize funding for watershed restoration and salmon habitat conservation in the Tongass National Forest.
It is crucial for the economic well being of Southeast Alaska. It is crucial for the future of the salmon. It is crucial for the health of the Tongass.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
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