"It’s time for Congress to better protect the richest resource of the Tongass: wild salmon.”

That quote comes courtesy of Tim Bristol, Director of TU's Alaska program in regards to Tongass 77, a new TU campaign to protect 77 high value watersheds in the Tongass National Forest.

Here is a quote from the T77 pdf that sums it up:

"Researchers from the Alaska offices of the Audubon Society, The Nature Conservancy and Trout Unlimited used state-of-the-art GIS and conservation planning software to identify the watersheds they consider the "best of the best” for salmon and trout habitat from the hundreds of Tongass watersheds not currently protected at the watershed scale. The 77 high-value watersheds they identified, comprising some 1.8 million acres, are currently open to development. Based on their outstanding fish habitat, the highest and best use of these "Tongass 77” watersheds should be for the production of salmon and trout."

These 77 watersheds represent just 11 percent of the Tongass land base, but encompass about 22 percent of the total salmon and trout habitat of the Tongass National Forest. Additionally, the engine that is the commercial and recreational fishery of Southeast Alaska’s contributed nearly $1 billion to the regional economy and accounted for close to 11 percent of regional jobs in 2007. All that is at risk with several initiatives that would privatize large swathes of the Tongass for development and resource extraction, as well as dozens of hydroelectric dam proposals and new mining activity.

Be a part of this new campaign by heading over to the the campaign's website and reading the hard science to back up the claim that healthy, intact watershed systems provide more and better habitat for wild salmon and trout. Then sign on for better protection for the wild salmon of Southeast Alaska, the true standing crop of the Tongass.

LINK