Virtual Happy Hour: Defend Roadless Protection Areas in the Tongass & Our Backyard

Photo by Amy Gulick

Last week we learned about one of the rarest ecosystems in the world—Alaska’s Tongass National Forest—and the current threat to its Roadless Protection Areas.

Acclaimed photographer and author Amy Gulick took us on a visual journey to the Tongass, a  17-million acre rain forest where the sea meets the trees. We saw humpback whales, orcas, and sea lions cruising the forested shorelines. Wild salmon swimming upstream into the forest, providing sustenance to the world’s highest densities of grizzlies, black bears, and bald eagles.

We learned how Native cultures and local communities and economies benefit from the gifts of the forest and sea.

Jack Lamb, CEO and owner of our Brewshed Alliance partner, Aslan Brewing, shared what protecting the Tongass and Roadless areas in Washington means to Aslan. Lamb illuminated the interconnectedness of the Northwest’s prosperity, stating “If you really hurt a part of our community, even just a piece of it, it starts this kind of domino effect.”

Joel Brady-Power, commercial Fisherman, co-owner Nerka Sea-Frozen Salmon, and part-time poet shared a few poignant lines on the connection between the Tongass and sustainable salmon. “As the forest helps sustain salmon, salmon sustain me. Salmon have given me a life, a livelihood, and an identity […] There is no sustainable salmon without a healthy Tongass.”

Watch the full video below or on our Facebook page.