Tongass: Pulp Politics And The Fight For The Alaska Rain Forest

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The largest temperate rainforest on the planet and home to grizzly bears, deer, moose, salmon, eagles, and myriad Native American tribes, the Tongass once covered southeast Alaska like a vibrant green carpet. That carpet has seen better days. In the 1950s, with sweetheart deals that provided seemingly limitless volumes of timber at well below market cost, the U.S. government enticed two pulp companies to set up shop there. The federal legislation opened up the country's largest national forest to massive industrial clear-cutting; it also set the stage for a bare-knuckles environmental battle that would reach its apex near the end of the century and become a template for future skirmishes.

A former environmental journalist for the Portland Oregonian, Durbin tells the story of the Tongass with a crime reporter's eye for deadly facts--which will fascinate anyone with an interest in the subject, particularly Alaskans and environmentalists. She details the collusion between the two pulp mills to keep prices down and small loggers squeezed; the illegal pollutant dumping; the union-busting; the U.S. Forest Service's bureaucratic myopia; the thousands of miles of logging roads punched through formerly pristine watersheds; and the destruction of once-prolific salmon streams and big-game habitat in a region renowned for its hunting and fishing. Durbin is at her best, though, unraveling the complex political processes behind the timber wars, both at the national level and the local, as well as exposing the backroom dealmaking that goes on between elected officials, corporate leaders, and activists. Perhaps most compelling is the subplot of coalition-building among fledgling enviro groups that spans decades, especially the progress of the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council (SEACC), founded in Juneau in the late '60s. Beginning as a tiny assortment of part-time, longhaired activists with nary a cent, SEACC eventually sends its own lobbyists to Washington. By the late 1980s, due largely to SEACC's tireless work, a New York Times editorial is calling the federally subsidized logging on the Tongass "so wrongheaded it's likely to provoke profanity from any fair-minded person," and Sports Illustrated is covering the story with an article entitled "Forest Service Follies." Through all this the author's sympathies are clear: significant portions of the Tongass, once a magnificent, sprawling ancient forest of spruce and hemlock, have been largely reduced to newspaper pulp--and, incredibly, at a loss to U.S. taxpayers. --Langdon Cook

Book Description

The fate of the Tongass National Forest is one of today's most closely watched environmental issues. Praised by Publishers Weekly as a "blow-by-blow account of a messy controversy and an impressive example of thorough journalism," Kathie Durbin's acclaimed volume is now available in an expanded edition that updates the story of this remote, wild, beautiful land.

After World War II, the U.S. government lured two pulp companies to Southeast Alaska by promising them low-cost timber from the Tongass National Forest, the planet's largest coastal temperate rain forest. The mills brought jobs and growth to a sparsely settled region. They also wreaked ecological havoc and created a timber industry that broke labor unions, drove competitors out of business, and controlled politicians and the U.S. Forest Service. It took a national campaign, led by grassroots environmentalists, to bring sanity and sustainability to management of the Tongass.

In her insightful account of Alaska's era of pulp, Durbin draws on the voices of the people most affected: independent loggers who fought back when the pulp companies conspired to drive them out of business; courageous biologists who warned that logging was destroying critical fish and wildlife habitat; Tlingit Indians who saw their traditional hunting grounds vanish; young activists and lawyers who found their lives transformed by the battle for the Alaska rain forest.

In this new edition, Durbin updates the story of the Tongass with a new chapter describing political and economic developments since 1999. Among the changes: a dramatic growth in cruise ship tourism, a new governor's plan for a system of roads and bridges to link remote Southeast Alaska communities, and a renewed push by the Forest Service under a timber-friendly administration in Washington, D.C., to open vast roadless areas to logging. Yet the fight for the Alaska rain forest is becoming a broader movement as appreciation for the true value of the region's wilderness grows.

Customer Reviews:

The rain in Alaska falls mainly on the Tongass.......2006-01-24

It's not just recently scientists and people who care about the environment have talked against clearing rain forests. How could one not be moved by those seemingly endless stretches of trees in the southern tropical countries of Brazil and Malaysia? After all, they're home to tons of plants, bugs, birds and animals, along with some native peoples.

What's recent is the attention to another kind of rain forest, called the coastal temperate. It's a rain forest that needs cool summers. It also needs a total rainfall each year of more than 55 inches. This kind of rain forest used to be found on the west sides of continents. Only Africa and Antarctica never had them. Ireland and Scotland used to be famous for them. Norway still has them in pockets. There's also quite a bit along Chile, New Zealand, and Tasmania. But the greatest of them all runs from Kodiak Island in the Alaska gulf south, through the Alaska panhandle and Canada's British Columbia coast to Vancouver Island.

Alaska's rain forests are a breathtaking sight. They're also good for the world. They build up and store more organic material than any other forest on earth. Some of that material drops into the nearby ocean. That's why Alaska's waters are full of the most scrumptious shellfish, salmon and halibut around.

And yet for over 40 years some of those forests were logged quickly and uncontrollably. Other forests were likewise logged some 20 years later. Salmon-spawning streams and black-tailed deer homes were ruined. Poorly built logging roads brought about landslides and brought in poachers. Caves underneath the trees were an archaeologist's treasure chest. But cutting down the trees caved in caverns and buried a part of our world history.

By the end of the 20th century, almost 1 million acres worth of trees were gone. It wasn't just muskeg, conifer and alpine scrub. It was western red cedar, western hemlock, Sitka spruce, and Alaska yellow cedar. The sad thing's no matter the tree, it was turned into pulp or 2-by-4's. That meant a lot of big, old, strong, tall trees cut down to make low-priced wood products that could have been made from lower-quality wood from elsewhere. Fewer trees could have been cut down and more money could have been made if the goal'd instead been turning out custom and specialty wood products for higher prices.

Pressure from nature supporters, native peoples and area residents put an end to TONGASS PULP POLITICS AND THE FIGHT FOR THE ALASKA RAIN FOREST might be won in the 21st century. Adventure packages, cruise ships, food production, handcrafts, small-scale custom and specialty logging, and tourist accommodations keep people employed and communities afloat. Forest service workers are cleaning up streams, redoing bad roads, and watching second-growth trees. So for the time being, there's more respect to what Virignia Tech master gardeners call the wildlands-urban interface of where people and nature meet.

Author Kathie Durbin's book is well-organized. It has clear examples and telling photos. It ends with a good bibliography and index. It's aimed at nature-supporting and community-building readers.

In 2003 we are still tearing this treasure down.......2003-04-20

Journalist Kathie Durbin has written one of the finest investigative works that I have read. I'm a lawyer with biology and chemistry degrees and I find the extensive endnotes, legal references and her penchant to seek out and cite primary sources refreshing.

There is nothing here that supports any label of the author, save that of professional. This work has disturbed me for years. I have become more active in the fight to preserve the ONLY temperate rain forest left in North America because of her clear and concise use of well-supported facts.

The most disturbing fact not in the book is that the lumber industry is now nothing but a byproduct of the pulp industry.

Ms. Durbin shows us how Salmon spawning grounds destroyed out of greed and carelessness by logging right up to the spawning streams and destroying the shade that the Salmon's Redd's require, and by the disposal of low pH waste into bays and estuaries and by the effects of runoff from clearcuts (damaging sub-arctic land and water: a fragile environment, indeed).

There is no room to debate the facts...only the policy. Calling this work or its author names simply illustrates the old adage: if you can't win on the facts attack the fact-finder.

Read this book. ANWAR may be the cause celeb today, but the damage to the Tongass is going on NOW.

Pulp Fiction.......2000-06-04

As a 50 year resident of Ketchikan, I was curious how a "tree hugger" would portray the fight for the Tongass--known in these parts as the fight for a reasonable standard of living. Ms. Durbin quotes environmental organizer Donald Ross on page 172: "It doesn't take much, when you're a congressman from Kansas and you've never heard of the Tongass, to get you to vote for trees." When all is said and done, that was the tactic of the environmentalists. On page 246, she says, "Most who did [find job after the Sitka mill closed] were forced to make do with a lower standard of living than they had become accustomed to on pulp mill wages." How easily she dismisses the plight of those who live in the Tongass. There's a lot Ms. Durbin doesn't mention like the fact that only the wealthy and refugees from the 60's can afford to experience up close & personal the pristine beauty of the nation's First Park. The environmentalists have won. Sierra Club, kiss my ax!

Trash.......2000-06-02

I have lived in the Tongass,, The Tongass is being sold out to the tour package industry,, this industry is no different than any other. The people who live here through its most harsh winters are being dictated to by feel good (my Disney Land) visitors. Many wonderful Alaskan familys have been displaced because of this myth.

How we almost lost a national treasure.......2000-03-24

Kathie Durbin reveals the irresponsible and corrupt practices of the U.S. government, the Forest Service, and the pulp mills it was in bed with in Southeast Alaska, and how their destructive logging practices politicized a whole contingent of people to stop the decimation of our last temperate rainforest. Read "Tongass" and your blood will boil over what happened there, and what is still happening in many of our other forests today.

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Ashley River EL
Jasmine at Ashley River El.
Grant at Ashley River. EL
Riley at Ashley River El.
Grace at Ashley River EL.

The Last American Rainforest: Tongass
Shelley Gill
Manufacturer: Sasquatch Books/Paws IV Children's Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0934007330

Book Description

This full-color picture book explores Tongass--the last American rainforest--through the eyes of a Tlingit Indian girl whose search for ancient tree roots leads to the discovery of her own family history. Illustrated by Shannon Cartwright.

Customer Reviews:

Ashley River EL.......2000-10-20

I gave this book 4 stars because it was'int one of thoese books that you couldn't put down to me. But I learned some stuf from it, like facts from the last american rainforest. Shelley Gill came to our school to talk about her books. She was cool. AND I MEAN IT.

Jasmine at Ashley River El........2000-10-20

I liked it because she took the story and made half a fact.She came to our school on Tuesday talking to us about herself.The book I wanted to talk is The Last American Rainforest is talking how the earth was before.

Grant at Ashley River. EL.......2000-10-20

I like it.We learn things from it. I learned that Salmon come from trees.

Riley at Ashley River El........2000-10-20

I think when Mrs.Gill came she really inspired me in reading. Since Harry Potter #4 was the longest book I read.I tried to get all Shelley Gill books.But,I could only get one.So I got Tongass. I chose it because of its beautiful illustrations.

Grace at Ashley River EL........2000-10-20

I liked when we read The Last american rainforest,because it was cool.I liked when she brougth the pictuers and the fallsools. The book was very, very, very, very good. I learend a lot of stuf.

The Book of the Tongass (World As Home, The)

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Don't always believe what you read.
Excellent
Beautiful collage of history and ecology of the Tongass

The Book of the Tongass (World As Home, The)

Manufacturer: Milkweed Editions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Tongass: Pulp Politics And The Fight For The Alaska Rain Forest

ASIN: 1571312269

Amazon.com

Lacing across the cold fjords and salmon streams of southeastern Alaska, the Tongass is America's largest national forest, larger than the state of West Virginia. It is also little known beyond the immediate region, and its obscurity has been of much use to the timber companies that, operating with the federal government's permission, have for years been clearing huge sections of the old-growth rainforest--and, it seems, for trivial ends. "Think of the stately Sitka spruce and you think of Chopin and sounding boards in the world's finest pianos," writes coeditor Don Snow, "but in the same thought you must also make room for the cellophane that wraps packages of cigarettes. Think of the soft-needled western hemlock and the strength it offers to hold a house together, but at the same time, consider rayon." It is possible, Snow and his fellow contributors maintain, to work this vast forest without wide-scale destruction, to log it in sustainable ways; so the native people of the Tongass have been doing for generations. But it is necessary, they add, to think of the Tongass and other old-growth forests for what they have to offer the future, as vast libraries of biological information, instead of a resource for short-term profits. This book takes readers deep inside the forest, giving an account of its natural wealth. It also guides them through the thickets of law and economics surrounding the public-lands forestry industry. Activists will find it of much value for its clear explication of the ongoing debate surrounding how the Tongass is to be used. --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

In the southeast corner of America's most rugged state lies the last contiguous expanse of temperate rain forest on the planet, much of it within the Tongass National Forest. With Glacier Bay at its northern end, the Tongass lies on a maze of islands and along a coastal strip protected by a range of mountains. The Tongass lives up to its state's reputation for wildness, natural beauty, and battles over how the land has been and will be used. In The Book of the Tongass, 13 Alaskans describe the region's spectacular forest and wildlife, its economic opportunities, and in two pieces by Tlingit storytellers, its oral history.

Customer Reviews:

Don't always believe what you read........2000-05-14

This book is a sad compilation of environmental propaganda. To speak of timber harvests in the "billions" of board feet when the industry is vertially extinct is just wrong. The Tongass region is the home of thousands of hardworking, resource-based individuals who don't want their lives to be misportrayed as this book has done. Alaskans have managed the resources of the state responsibly and the author does an injustice by not honestly explaining this fact.

Excellent.......2000-04-11

Very good reading. Because it is a collection of essays, you can gets lots from this book: natural history of the region, politics, sociocultural issues. Picking a nit, this gave the book a scattered feel. Also, some chapters far superior to others, I found myself skimming thru a few aimless chapters.

Beautiful collage of history and ecology of the Tongass.......2000-04-03

For those who would be more than casual visitors to this spectacular landscape, this collection of writings from various authors offers up pointed insight into man's relationshionship with the Tongass. From the best (and concise!) overview of the legal issue of subsistance in Alaska I've ever read to the quietly fantastical Tlingit story, the book contains the multi-faceted viewpoints of modern inhabitants and the issues shaping how we view this incredible place.

Customer Reviews:

For anyone wanting to discover all of Sicily's wild and beautiful landscapes this is a great tool!.......2007-06-19

I lived in Sicily for 3 years as a military wife. I've purchased many books on Sicily, most tell of it's history or hotel recommendations which are great for tourists or first time readers but I wanted more. I found this book during my last year there. What a great book for showing me places I never heard about or would have found on my own. I wish I had found it sooner. Most of my favorite memories were on hikes with my family that I found with this book!

Sunflower Landscapes have a simple easy layout to follow. The first half of the book is for recommeneded beautiful drives and great picnic opportunities through small towns and panoramic coastal vistas. Many of these car tours are great ways to discover remote towns or parks off the beaten path. The book is set up very well and ordered with a pull out map at the back corresponding to numbered drives and hikes. They are also grouped according to region. This is all helpful to link up car tours with hikes in the area, the second half of the book. The hikes are well detailed with a small photo, difficulty level, distance, elevation gain, and a topographical map as well for that particular walk. Levels vary from easy family hikes to experienced only hikes. However with all this information the book manages not to get bogged down. It's slim and easy to carry and navigate with. Finding some of the locations was a challenge but I don't blame the book. Sicilians aren't big into their parks or hiking. You are truly off the beaten path. Many times we were the only ones out there along with a few farm animals which was fantastic!

Sicily is also rightfully well known for their greek historical ruins. Many hikes/car tours incorporate these spots which means you won't miss a thing. There are usually a few different hiking level options around these historical points of interest giving you a view you wouldn't have had otherwise.

For a first time visitor to the island only wishing to spend a week or so seeing the sights, I would first recommend a good well known guide book. This book would serve primarily to compliment your guide book. For example in the well visited coastal town of Cefalu there is a hike that takes you to the top of the mountain and castle ruins that towers the city. I had wanted to visit this town many times. However if I had visited it before I had this book I never would have known about the hike and my experience would not have been as wonderful.

For someone who truly wants to explore the natural beauty of this rustic island, this is a great book!

We are moving back and I can't wait to explore even more Sicily with this great book! This may sound corny, but I honestly felt I had stumbled on a secret when I found this book. Finally I could experience Sicily in another way outside of it's well known towns/cities, food, and shopping.

I've tried many travel books and have found format and interest crucial to the success of the book. I loved the simple well organized layout of the Sicily book so much I've bought a few other Sunflower Landscape books. I used the Ireland and Scottish Highland books and found them great as well. The hikes weren't as difficult to find as hiking is much more established in those countries.

Overall, I found the Sunflower Landscape series make excellent companions to any guide book.

Customer Reviews:

A must read!.......2000-06-26

This is a fascinating book that I read as a child and recently reread (and purchased) as an adult. This book was one of the first I read of the 'fantasy' genre. It really sparked my interest in these types of books. I highly recommend it.

Justice and her brothers.Outstanding!.......2000-01-29

This is an excelent book,after a while you get sucked into another world where Justice,Thomas and Levi live.But after a while you might get lost in the strange plot.

The Mystery of Drear House, Justice and Her Brothers

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The Mystery of Drear House, Justice and Her Brothers
Virginia Hamilton
Manufacturer: Simon and Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Product Description

The Mystery of Drear House: History, legend, and rumor surround Drear House, once a station on the Underground Railroad and the home of long-dead abolitionist Dies Drear. Tales have been told of the fabulous wealth hidden somewhere within its walls. And Thomas Small, whose family has recently moved to Drear House, has begun to learn many of its secrets-and those of the people whose lives are inextricaby bound to it. Justice and Her Brothers: Something was changing. But what thing? Something was happening in the house, with her brothers, herself. Out on the wide, sun-drenched lawn, down by the hedgerow, down by the black poisonous water of the Quinella Trace. Something was stirring. What thing? For 11-year-old Justice the summer was becoming a dream and a nightmare-a hide-and-seek with a force she couldn't see. Alone in the house with her identical twin brothers, Justice knew they were hiding something from her, something they were afraid to let her know. It wasn't just Thomas with his angry stares or Levi disappearing the way he did. It was something (what-thing?) else. It came upon her the morning of the Great Snake Race. A great gift has been bestowed on Justice and her brothers. Together they could be anything, anywhere-even in the future.

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Justice & Her Brothers.
Virginia. Hamilton
Manufacturer: Harcourt
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Book Description

Disease is an ever-present threat faced by all human societies. Today, this concept has become an influential area of study known as the global burden of disease, which encompasses contemporary health concerns such as the economic costs of disease, the societal impact of illness in developing nations, and infectious diseases resulting from lifestyle exposures. Before we can ease this global burden, it is essential to establish an accurate view of the current status of human health and disease around the world. Addressing key areas that reflect our understanding of disease, The Changing Face of Disease: Implications for Society explores the evolution of disease, the implications for human societies, its ecology, and the current human response. This volume aims to broaden our view of disease at the dawn of the 21st century through topics such as epidemiological transition, mathematical modeling of disease evolution, parasitic disease, urban pollution and illness, and under-nutrition and obesity. Contributions to the text reflect the authors' diverse perspectives and studies on human population biology, biological anthropology, and biomedical and public health issues. This authoritative volume traces the evolution of modern disease and explores contemporary health challenges resulting from genetic, environmental, economic, and lifestyle factors. Through many levels of analysis, it provides a clear picture of the present state of health and disease and reminds us of the global burdens that have yet to be remedied.

Book Description

Do you cringe when a linebacker flattens a quarterback? Hold your breath when a field goal sails toward the goalpost? Watch in amazement as a touchdown pass spirals down the field? Behind those big hits, long kicks, and sensational throws is a science that will give you a whole new perspective on the game of football.

A combination of Stephen Hawking and Mike Ditka, physicist and football fan Timothy Gay breaks down the fundamental laws of physics that govern America's most exciting spectator sport. To illustrate the science behind the game, he highlights some of football's recent memorable moments, along with legendary feats from the likes of Franco Harris and Joe Montana.

Did you Know?

Newton's Second Law of Physics proves that Dick Butkus hit running backs with the force of a small killer whale.
The average force with which a football must be kicked during kickoff is 450 lbs. But for an instant, the force may be as much as a ton.
Shaun Rogers, firing off the line of scrimmage, can develop as much as four horsepower by himself.

Book Description

Art from the Ashes provides the most far-reaching collection of art, drama, poetry, and prose about the Holocaust ever presented in a single volume. Through the works of men and women, Jews and non-Jews, this anthology offers a vision of the human reality of the catastrophe. Essays by familiar writers like Primo Levi and Elie Wiesel accompany lesser-known efforts by Yankiel Wiernik and Frantisek Kraus; stories by Tadeusz Borowski and Ida Fink join fiction by neglected authors such as Isaiah Spiegel and Adolf Rudnicki; and extensive selections have been chosen from the works of six poets--the renowned Paul Celan, Nelly Sachs, and Abraham Sutzkever among them. Each selection (except for self-contained excerpts from ghetto journals and diaries) appears here in its complete form. Langer also includes in their entirety a novel by Aharon Appelfeld, a novella by Pierre Gascar, and Joshua Sobol's controversial drama Ghetto. In addition, this volume features a visual essay in the form of reproductions of twenty works of art created in the Terezin concentration camp.

Customer Reviews:

Art from the Ashes.......2007-07-16

This is an amazing piece of work. Some of these poems and stories just grab you and move you.

Art from the Ashes: A Holocaust Anthology

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Art from the Ashes: A Holocaust Anthology
Lawrence L. Langer
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OKISZA

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