The U.S. Forest Service has begun prioritizing projects that recognize the importance of the forest to wild salmon, recreation, and Alaska Native culture. This has meant more local crews restoring salmon streams and deer habitat, more attention to trails and tourism management, and more partnerships with communities. But, Project 2025 explicitly calls out the Tongass: they want to get rid of conservation protections we’ve fought and defended and bring back clear cutting old growth in the Tongass. 

The Forest is starting to re-write the plan that governs the Tongass: re-zoning the landscape figuring out what to prioritize and where in the coming decades. This is a chance to protect wild salmon, build more trails, focus on managing tourism, and make the forest work better for communities. We think the Forest Service is heading in the right direction: their initial assessment recognizes that Southeast Alaskans care about the uniqueness of our remote forested island archipelago, the importance of the Forest as homelands to Native Alaskans, for customary and traditional uses, for salmon, and for recreation. 

We will be reviewing the assessment and giving feedback on what they got right and what they’ve missed. The assessment contains chapters on different subject areas and attempts to give a picture of the best available knowledge. We want to make sure they have the best information about salmon habitat, our values, and the direction Southeast Alaskans want the agency to go. 

In the new plan we want to see them:

• Prioritize wild salmon

• Prioritize managing outdoor recreation and tourism 

• Prioritize working with local communities and tribes

• Bring the plan up-to-date with current realities and management