The season 3 finale of A Matter of Degrees delves into the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world and a vital carbon sink: the Tongass.
This episode investigates the impact of decades of industrial logging in Southeast Alaska and political debates pitting ecology against economy. We learn from the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian people who have lived on these lands for more than 10,000 years.
This episode features SSP Deputy Director Marina Anderson and Chalyee Éesh Richard Peterson, President of the Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska.
Marina and Richard describe the boom-and-bust extractive economy of the past, and they share new collaborative approaches that are now moving Southeast Alaska towards a regenerative economy — in which the forest and local communities can thrive.
Along the way, we learn about key moments in the history of the Tongass: its designation as a National Forest in 1907, major pulp mill contracts in the 1950s, the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, the 1990 Tongass Timber Reform Act, the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, and now, the modern-day Southeast Alaska Sustainability Strategy. It’s a powerful tale that ultimately points to so much possibility.
PHOTO CAPTION: Marina Anderson participates during Haa Tóo Yéi Yatee Hoonah Culture Camp when Sustainable Southeast Partnership regional catalysts and Alaska Youth Stewards harvest and process beach asparagus for pickling in Hoonah, Alaska. (Photo by Bethany Goodrich)