My Turn: Salmon need undisturbed streams
With the salmon derby come and gone, it's time those who depend on Southeast Alaska's wild salmon think about where those fish come from. How many anglers (or business owners) gave a thought to what it takes to produce a wild silver or king salmon? Kings and silvers (as well as steelhead, sockeye, cutthroat, and Dolly Varden) spend one to four years rearing in streams and lakes. They require clean, undisturbed streams to feed and grow before migrating to the ocean. Returning adults need these streams to spawn in to ensure survival of their eggs. Wild salmon rely upon intact forest watersheds that have not been subject to major impacts such as clear-cutting, residential development, or overfishing. People in the Pacific Northwest appreciate this fact because they have seen wild salmon populations decimated. Now they are calling for salmon sanctuaries where populations can rebuild and remain self-sustaining. It will be an uphill battle. Salmon and trout communities evolve over thousands of years to fit the unique environmental conditions of each watershed. Once this genetic resource has been lost it can't be replaced. That's why hatchery replacement of wild stocks is a failure. Perhaps we Southeast Alaskans take our wild salmon a bit for granted. Derby time is a good time to think about how land management affects Southeast's wild salmon.
The Greenpeace visit highlighted this issue. There is debate over how to manage the remaining roadless areas of the Tongass. I enjoyed Mr. Tonsgard's letter, and I agree that logging is not the only human impact that affects wild salmon. There are a lot of human activities that are responsible. Anyone who values Alaska's salmon should be alarmed, however, at the recent calls to open up large tracts of wilderness for development. The history of salmon worldwide tells us that access to wilderness inevitably leads to population declines, be it from road building and logging, or second-home development and overfishing.
Greenpeace was here because the international community appreciates this. Most of those "radical environmentalists" value wilderness because they come from developed areas like the Eastern U.S. or Europe where salmon is a color, not a dinner. They value wild salmon because they know what its like to live without them. I've been amazed I as moved further west over the past 20 years how pro-development administrations have made fun of New Jersey on one hand while paving their own state from end to end on the other (visit the Colorado Front Range sometime).
I'm a biologist. But I live in a wooden house, I've burned wood for heat, and I occasionally pick an old Gibson guitar with a spruce top. I've worked on Prince of Wales Island for several years, and I understand the role of the timber industry for many Southeast Alaska communities. I realize that it was federal policy that created the industry by signing long-term contracts, and then reversed its support by terminating the contracts. I don't believe that clear-cutting and developing large tracts of wilderness is a sustainable solution for Southeast Alaska. I would like to see ideas on how to use the thousands of miles of existing roads, and the thousands of acres of second-growth forest to develop a sustainable timber industry. The ideas of people like Mr. Lew Williams and Mr. Tonsgard, who have spent many years in Southeast Alaska, would be valuable in doing this. It seems to me Southeast communities would be better served by managing small areas in a sustainable way, rather than clear-cutting vast tracts of wilderness and waiting 200 years to do it again.
With progressive thought and a little cooperation the people of Southeast Alaska may be able to use their forest resources without opening vast tracts of roadless areas. Rather than lambasting me for my ignorance of the timber industry (it's been done before), I challenge Don Smith and Mr. Williams to propose ways that this may be possible. One thing I can say is that wild salmon and development are not fully compatible, and that we simply can't have both. It's a good time to remember that wild salmon are also a forest resource - one that relies on wilderness. If its not possible to better use the areas that are already developed, Southeast Alaskans will need to make the tough choice between wild salmon and wilderness. Then I'm afraid derby time will become another page in Alaska history. Anyone for golf?
Jack Piccolo of Juneau is a salmon biologist with the University of Alaska.