THE TONGASS: Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees
by Robert Glenn Ketchum
In 1985, I began a 2-year commission to explore the Tongass rainforest, the largest forest in the United States Forest Service (USFS) system AND the largest temperate rainforest in the world. It was a unique, old-growth environment under siege from industrial logging. The resulting investigative book I published helped to pass the Tongass Timber Reform Bill, protect 1,000,000 acres of old-growth, and create 11 new wilderness areas. This is the story of how that was achieved.
Tuesday, May 21, 2019
THE TONGASS: Stop the Cut, There are Salmon in the Trees, #143:
THE TONGASS, #143: We linger with
Stan (Price) the Bear Man at Pack Creek awhile longer, but we have miles to go (paddle) before we sleep, so our group must get on with the rest of our day. The rain has stopped, and the sky actually seems to be clearing, so we return to our canoes and launch ourselves once again, heading south, down the
Seymour Canal. Within an hour or so, the sun breaks out of the clouds, and it appears we are going to have a really nice day. Thus, we paddle, and paddle on! It actually gets HOT because of the effort we are exerting.
The Tongass is a temperate rainforest, but it is also the northern-most forests in the world to claim this, so “temperate” means most days are in the 60’s, at best. However, when the sun comes out, the “real” Alaskans come out as well, and our guide, Jeff Sloss, is the first to strip off his shirt and paddle “topless.” The other significant factor (as far as I am concerned) of this Alaskan rainforest in the summer months, is the astounding, predatory insect population, ONSHORE. Most visitors spend much of their time wearing full clothing, and mosquito head nets for protection. One of the delightful advantages of being offshore, paddling in the canoes, is that there are VERY FEW insects once you get away from the shoreline, Hence, when our party stops for a rest, we always do so at islands and rock outcrops, in the middle of the canal, where we can snack and rest without an insect assault. After a long morning paddle, that is exactly what we do, when we stop for lunch. Philip also decides to go “topless” now, and for more than 1hr., we are all eating, fishing, and clamming. I want to point out the gentleman (upper, right) looking at the camera with his hand extended. He is old-school, part of the
Sierra Club group, and from the first night in camp, he has made it clear he believes Philip, Carey, and I are “suspect,” because we are wearing “weird” (
Patagonia) clothing, and he thinks, that without wool, etc., we are at risk. Funny he says things like that and then dons a cotton flannel shirt, which when wet in cold weather, is like wearing a hypothermic jacket. His choice of clothing also adds about eight extra pounds to his pack. He will have more to whine about shortly, when he views our Mole Harbor Royal Catacanoe Club Regatta.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2019, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd
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