National forest? National rain forest is more accurate. Make that old-growth temperate rain forest, an exceptionally rich ecosystem that holds more organic matter—more biomass—per acre than any other, including tropical jungles. And that’s not counting the equally lush forests of seaweed added to Tongass shores whenever the tide goes out. Temperate rain forest flourished from Alaska to northern California and in nations from Norway to Chile. Much has fallen to the ax and saw. In the lower 48 states, 96 percent of old-growth forest of all types has been cut down. The Tongass now represents not only the greatest remaining reserve of huge trees in the U.S., but also nearly one-third of the old-growth temperate rain forest left in the world.

-via National Geographic

I can’t bring myself to eat farmed fish despite the knowledge that everything your kid, and his kids, turn their nose up at – will be pen raised. I take full responsibility for being of the “Them as Borrowed Money So They Could Eat Everything” generation – sandwiched squarely between the Selfless and Selfish generations before and after …

I believe that deep frying renders a flaccid filet tasty, given its saran-wrapped ass is still sore from the Big Stainless, which delivered a pressurized enema of Nyquil syrup and red dye #3 …

So I troll the fish section on the urging of my doctor and other health professionals, who have been berating all of us on the merits of regular fish ingestion, and think of those last few spots on Earth where real salmon frolic …

My state is on its last gasp as host for salmon, and what little of the Northern run that’s left will be extincted when dope is legalized and shoulders past watery tomatoes and wine grapes, to divert the last remnants of Northern California’s water to growing herb.

Group Asks Obama Administration, Congress, to Strengthen Conservation and Restoration of Salmon and Trout Watersheds in Tongass National Forest.

Some states still boast a population of healthy fish, which is why my freezer at the grocery still boasts a token fillet for me to lust after.

Most are chum or pink salmon, and source from Southern Alaska, part of the the salmon rich area known as the “Tongass 77”, seventy-seven watersheds within Southeast Alaska that combine to produce nearly 28% of that state’s Pacific Salmon harvest.

… and it’s no surprise to find nearly all of the 77 rivers are vulnerable to the same issues that extincted California’s salmon industry.

The troubling history of the Pacific Northwest and
California, where salmon and trout runs have disappeared
or face serious declines, foreshadow the types of
problems that could be repeated in Southeast Alaska
unless government agencies, lawmakers and the public
act to make fish habitat conservation and restoration top
priorities. In the Tongass, the opportunity still exists to
ensure salmon and trout, and the people who depend on
them, enjoy a healthier and more stable future than their
Pacific Northwest and California kin.

Past logging practices has already damaged many of the watersheds, such as the Fubar and the Harris, and the constant threat of an increased hydroelectric presence to make the area suitable for development is certain to claim other victims.

Trout Unlimited and local organizations are asking for you to care a bit beyond selecting your next fillet, and ensuring jobs and prosperity for the local salmon industry, rather they’re looking to you to advice Congress that the entire area, all 77 rivers, be managed for salmon versus timber and tourism.

Little doubt the Alaskan fish will face the same pressures of people and progress as the Northern California runs faced and lost. Coupled with our reservations to consume test-tube fish, and urged by the medical establishment to consume an ever greater share of what’s left, it’s appropriate we manage these last sources of fish with the future in mind.