5 Reasons To Put the T! in Tongass...

Tongass…besides fiberglass fly rods & bacon, it’s what bloggers are writing about these days. Like the trout we fancy that lie in wait silently until presented with a easy meal, us bloggers usually only jump to action when something free is waved in our face…so in this instance, our hellgrammite is a trip to Alaska.

As such, I’m asked to write a post about why “conserving its prime but threatened salmon and trout habitat is vital to the regional economy, local culture and the nation’s sporting heritage.”

And just like in college, I chose to watch a movie rather than read the book, so after viewing this, the “why” seems pretty self-evident to me…


Take away the habitat you lose the fish. Take away the fish and the economy and culture that relies on them suffer. Suffering is no good for the Tongass, the people of Alaska, and of course America. And anything bad for America sucks. Am I missing something?

With that out of the way, here are 5 reasons why I should be one of the bloggers rescued from the smothering heat & humidity that is July in Florida and shipped to the Salmon Forest of the Last Frontier...

1) It’s called the Salmon Forest. And I have no idea what that means
I went to the website that was recommended for research, but I’m still confused. I didn’t see trees made of fish, or trees that grow fish, or anything like that. I was mildly disappointed by this fact since half of the flies I cast typically end up snagged in overhanging branches.  Figured by going to the Tongass, I'd just be cutting out the liquid middleman...

2) Tenkara, baby
Who doesn't want to hear the drag scream as line hastily peels off after hooking into a salmon on a brand new tenkara rod...

Huh?

Oh, I knew that...

3) I’m gonna find me an Ewok and bring it home for Lilly
Although I guess if it’s a National Forest, the law probably wouldn't be in favor of that. I mean c'mon!  I looked at the pictures of the Tongass, this is prime Ewok habitat. It’s gotta be crawling with those little buggers.

4) When Trout Unlimited puts their mind (& minions) on something, they go BIG or go home.
I see successful reports of TU chapters restoring & conserving all the time. Plus, how many letters do we all get in the mail each month looking for monetary support for this, a donation match for that, or become a “Lifetime Member” of the clan? Now that Dwight’s in charge of the Scranton branch, he should really look into scoring the “whale” that is the TU paper account.

5) Finally, you read this list
Yeah, let’s be honest, if you've been following some of the other Tongass contest-inspired posts, you perhaps read one or two from start to finish, but likely skimmed the majority. I mean if you've read one “copy and paste of facts people only researched for the sole purpose of entering this contest” post you've read them all.

However, I know you read this...Google Analytics ratted you out.

No, seriously, I know you read this because Americans are suckers for lists of any sort.

So TU, Fishpond, Tenkara USA, RIO, and the OBN, send me to Alaska…or at least lodge me and show me around after I pay my own airfare to Juneau…because when I get back, in addition to showing off my newly obtained dog sledding skills...and placing my full blogging energy toward the Tongass, I’m going to insert just enough snarky pop culture references in my follow up post(s) to make what might otherwise be considered a boring or tired subject amusing enough for people to actually read.

And I figure that’s the end game here.  Spreading the word & creating awareness.  But I could be wrong.

Guess there’s only one way to find out…

This is my submission to the Trout Unlimited 2013 Blogger Tour sponsored by Fishpond, 

Tenkara USA and RIO, and hosted by the Outdoor Blogger Network.