Dear Editor: This November, I’ll be voting to preserve my daughter’s future in the Tongass.
When I fill out my ballot, I’ll be thinking about the moments Southeast has given my family, and about the people who are elected and how their decisions will shape my daughter's future to create memories in a thriving forest, and along healthy salmon streams.
What it gives my family, it gives all of Southeast Alaska. It fills our freezers, supports our fishing and tourism jobs, and gives our kids a place to grow up wild. It also gives us a shared identity as people who depend on and care for this forest. Part of this identity means making a plan to vote.
Decisions made in city halls, in Juneau, and in Washington shape how this forest is managed, how our fisheries are protected, and what kind of communities we leave behind. Over the years I’ve learned that those decisions are rarely permanent. They are simply the most recent choices made by the people who showed up.
So this November, I am choosing to show up for the Tongass in my vote. To speak for it by participating: by learning about the issues, and by making a plan to vote. Whatever your views, your voice belongs in these decisions. If you fish, hunt, harvest, guide, or simply love living here, the Tongass needs you to show up.
Election Day is November 3! Make a plan to vote, find your polling place at elections.alaska.gov, and make your voice heard for the future of our communities and the places we call home.
Danny Ryan, Sitka
