(SitNews) Angoon, Alaska - Deep inside Admiralty Island National Monument, the distinctive sound of hand tools at work reverberates off the ancient forest. There, on a boggy section of single-track trail outside the tribal community of Angoon, two men are building a bridge that does much more than simply cross 10 yards of boot-eating muck. This unassuming wooden span is connecting generations, cultures and governments, showing a shared path forward for the Tongass National Forest and Southeast Alaska communities.

The bridge and trail are a vital link in the Cross Admiralty Canoe Route, a 32-mile series of lakes and trail portages that allows backcountry canoeists, kayakers and others to traverse the island. But while the modern route was established by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, the path it follows was not news to the island’s residents, as Donald Frank, tribal liaison for the national monument, explains.

(Left to Right) Tribal Liaison Donald Frank, Trail Crew Leader Aaron McCluskey, Youth Conservation Corps member Roger Williams and Admiralty Island National Monument Ranger Chad VanOrmer pause work to celebrate the agency’s successful Youth Conservation Corps partnership with the Angoon Tribe.
Photo by Travis MasonBushman, Tongass National Forest Partnerships & Public Affairs

“The history of this trail doesn’t go back to the CCC, it goes back to the time when our people crossed the lakes to hunt and fish and trap for furs to sell. We didn’t build this trail, no. This is a trail that the bears chose. Its story goes back much farther than we know,” Frank said.

Now, Roger Williams and Aaron McCluskey, members of the Angoon tribe which has lived on the island for thousands of years, are carrying on that tradition of stewardship. They’re the tribe’s trail crew, which works for the Tongass through a Youth Conservation Corps partnership; providing employment for local residents while giving back to the land. It’s hard, dirty work and there are no hot showers and warm beds awaiting them at the end of the day, only a campfire and perpetually-soggy tents at a remote “spike camp” several miles away. But, that’s what they signed up for, and neither is complaining.

“We’re camped out here in the cold and wet. It’s either cold and wet or hot and buggy, take your pick. I’m pretty much living in raingear. Honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way,” McCluskey said.

In his second season as crew leader, McCluskey is a world away from his former military specialty as a vehicle mechanic. Inside the monument’s wilderness, no power tools or motor vehicles can be used. “Out here, you can’t deal with gas,” he said laconically. So, to get the materials for the bridge, the crew turned to old-fashioned muscle power, hauling locally-sourced wood from tidewater to the job site on their backs, four planks at a time.

“It took an hour to hike up and an hour to hike back. By mid-day, I had blisters on my feet. But we’re in the wilderness and we’re stewards of the wilderness, so this is how we do it,” McCluskey said.

Building the bridge was McCluskey’s idea in the first place. He discovered a section of trail that had been reduced to seemingly-bottomless mud and standing water. Figuring that a standard boardwalk would soon sink, he decided to pound abutments into firmer soil and go over the top of the mire. That meant finding some big logs to span the gap and Williams was eager to oblige.

“My favorite part of the job is chopping down trees, finding the right one in the right place is important,” Williams said. “It’s fun working with a bunch of different people out on the trail.”

The experience is also helping to build their connection with the land. “We’re helping the forest and the people who use it,” McCluskey said.

Chad Van Ormer is the monument ranger for Admiralty Island and has spearheaded the move to partner with Angoon’s tribal government for a youth trail crew. He joked that his role is the easy part. “I just connect the dots and look for money.” He also went on to note that “the real work comes from the blended Forest Service and Angoon field crews who are learning to accomplish mutual goals together. All of their patience and efforts are paying off with stewardship through partnerships.”

By building relationships with local groups such as the Angoon tribe, Van Ormer is at the leading edge of the Tongass’ move toward shared stewardship of the forest. Through partnerships such as this one, on-the-ground results in the national forest can be achieved not just by the agency working alone, but by a broad coalition of governments, organizations and communities sharing a goal of sustaining the unique economy and ecology of Southeast Alaska.

“There is something really neat happening here on Admiralty Island, because it’s the future for the agency. Our goal is to be a facilitator, to help people do good work across the forests and it doesn’t matter whether the work is done by us or by others,” Jeff Miller, who coordinates recreation partnership and service programs for the Forest Service’s Alaska Region, said.

As Frank explained, Admiralty Island’s native peoples have long been thoughtful stewards of their home. They’ve been doing good work on the forests for millennia.

“The Teikwedi had territorial rights to this area. As the elders say, as many generations as we’ve been here is as much sand is on that beach over there,” Frank said. “We managed the resource. We took only what we need, never more.”

By engaging Angoon’s youth to become stewards of the forest today, the Tongass is committed to seeing those traditions endure tomorrow, and for generations to come.

Source of News: 

Tongass National Forest
www.fs.fed.gov

Story & Photo by Travis MasonBushman, Tongass National Forest Partnerships & Public Affairs...

 

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