When you talk
about the Tongass National Forest,
you're talking about me.
Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian… We're as
rooted to these lands as the forest is.
We've lived our traditional way of life
from these forests since the beginning of time.
When you walk into the forest, there's just a moment of peace that hits you.
The tree branches are all draped with moss,
and it just gives this otherworldly feel.
The Tongass offers
an experience in wildness,
unlike anywhere else.
There's just always
this feeling of being out there.
It's about 17 million acres, the biggest national forest
in the Forest Service system.
It's all about multiple use and trying to balance those uses
across the landscape.
You know, certain parts of the Tongass
that are used by people to make a living
and then there are certain parts of the forest that,
if left alone, allow people to make a living.
You have restoration,
recreation, timber management.
It's home to all species of salmon.
And those salmon go out and get caught by commercial fishermen.
These activities from public lands produce
economic and social benefits that come from a working landscape,
using the resources that are naturally abundant around
you as a way of sustenance and activity.
We go out and we play for the day and it's like a vacation with a dividend.
You're coming home with a slab of salmon or a deer or a bucket of berries.
It's very much an Alaska lifestyle.
To be in a beautiful old growth forest.
It is truly like a religious experience sometimes to see things that have been
there for hundreds of years.
I get a sense of serenity,
especially when it's raining and it's really, really quiet.
It feels kind of prehistoric
and it feels like you're a part of something bigger.
Part of my work
as a salvage logger is connecting people to not just trees,
but everything that's out there.
Every piece of wood, every downed tree offers something different.
I'll have something in mind and turn it into something
that people can appreciate and connect with the forest.
There's a cultural feeling to the forest.
You have a sense of something bigger
and something more profound.
I think it's just deep.
Every time I walk
in the forest, every time I'm on the water, I look around and
I imagine my ancestors doing the exact same thing.
Our ancestors cared for these lands.
They think about generations and generations to come.
And it's my responsibility to treat this land with respect and walk gently on it.
For me, it's a real connection
to my ancestors, to my culture,
to my heritage.
This area has always been important to the people who live here.
Most of us are still out in the woods looking for food,
hunting, gathering, recreating,
enjoying the area.
If you respect the land,
if you take care of the resources, they will always take care of you.
We have such a strong tradition of enjoying
the land, being sustained by it.
I still too depend on the forest.
It's a really beautiful place to just take a deep breath smell in
the spruce trees around you and really
stop thinking about the rest of the world.
Alaska's National Forests where nature, people, and tradition
come together.