Lessons from the National Christmas Tree: It’s OK to be SASS-y

The tradition of selecting an outstanding tree from a different U.S. National Forest each year to adorn the West Lawn of the White House during the holiday season has been going on for 54 years. This year, a Sitka spruce from the rainforests of Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska was selected as the National Christmas Tree.  

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Mark Meyer

The Sitka spruce was barged from Wrangell, AK, to Seattle, WA, where it was then wrapped in Christmas lights and trucked across the country on an 82-foot flatbed truck. The tree was enclosed in a special plexiglass window for onlookers to admire the spruce as it traveled across the country, making pit stops for viewing along the way. The White House cites this as an annual campaign for people to celebrate and learn about different national forests across the country.

While trucking a Christmas tree across the continent is one way to celebrate the Tongass, another way is to highlight the incredible diversity of work happening right now on the Tongass under the Southeast Alaska Sustainability Strategy, or SASS. The SASS was implemented by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in July 2021 to end commercial old-growth logging in the Tongass, restore the Roadless Rule, and provide an initial $25 million for community needs on the forest.  

The SASS prioritizes the long-held community value of healthy ecosystem management, including overcoming a legacy of destructive clear-cut logging that began in the 1950s. 

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Jen Christopherson

The Three Rs of SASS:  Restoration, Recreation, and Resilience  

The SASS currently funds 59 incredible projects that all generally fall into one of three categories: habitat restoration, recreation or community economic resilience.

1. a. Restoration in the water  

The SASS is funding projects in partnership with local nonprofits and community groups to prioritize restoring degraded Tongass forest habitat. This includes replacing old, damaged and clogged culverts. Many of these water channeling structures were installed under the long networks of logging roads over half a century ago. The damaged and undersized culverts prevent fish, like salmon, from making their annual migrations back up stream to access historic spawning habitat.    

1. b. Restoration on the land  

Decades of clearcut logging resulted in an imbalanced forest structure. A healthy forest structure is a vibrant, multi-aged and complex environment housing a myriad of species from Sitka black-tailed deer, Pacific marten, Queen Charlotte’s goshawks and Alexander Archipelago wolves. Much of the Tongass is the opposite of this ideal as it contains hundreds of thousands of acres of tightly packed stands of trees with no room for plants or other trees to grow in the understory, which in turn results in a lack of wildlife.  

Using SASS funding, groups are working to restore old-growth characteristics in the forest. This includes thinning out some of these dense forest stands to open the canopy and allow smaller trees to take root. This reduces competition so larger trees can grow faster and allows the understory to develop and diversify.  

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Jen Christopherson/DOW

2. Recreation

Tongass National Forest is a spectacular archipelago composed of rocky islands dotting the Pacific Ocean which many are eager to explore. The SASS is funding groups like the Alaska Youth Stewards which, among many other projects, teaches young adults the basics of guiding adventure tours, like bear and boating safety and how to pack kayaks, take care of a camp, and properly navigate waterways. Other funds are being used to improve remote public-use cabins and cabin access across the forest that are available for anyone to rent under the Forest Service.  

3. Community Economic Resilience

There is no shortage of economic opportunities relating to healthy ecosystems in the Tongass. The southeast Alaska economy is no longer dependent on old growth logging. The SASS continues to strengthen food security opportunities that promote shellfish hatcheries, oyster farming and sustainable fisheries. These projects are further bolstered by supported projects like the aquatic farmers’ offloading pier and packing facility. Other innovative efforts, special to Southeast Alaska under the SASS include: improving bear viewing opportunities under Kootznoowoo Inc., Wrangell wild blueberry management programs, and Indigenous heritage and place names in the Juneau trail system.

A Partner in Defenders of Wildlife

Defenders is honored to partner with Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska under the SASS on our bear coexistence program. Brown and black bears in southeast Alaska are abundant but can get aggressive when food is involved. Properly securing attractants is one way to prevent conflict between curious bears and people. When chicken coops, gardens and fish smoke houses are protected by an electric fence, or garbage is stored in bear-resistant cans, conflicts can be dramatically reduced.  

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© Jennifer Kardiak-USDA Forest Service

Defenders supports anyone in southeast Alaska (or the Kenai Peninsula) with a 50% cost share program for those interested in installing an electric fence around bear attractants, keeping both bears and humans safe.  

Wishing You a Happy, SASS-y Holiday Season!

If you have a chance to see the Sitka spruce outside the White House, we hope the thought of the SASS working to help heal the Tongass’ legacy will lighten your mind and heart. As we head into the new year, voice your support of the Tongass and our National Forests to your representatives. If you are able, you can also give the gift of a donation to support Defenders’ work on bears and other wildlife in these beautiful, wild places.

Happy Holidays from Alaska and all of Defenders!