Opinion: The Roadless Rule is a promise that should never be broken

Sun shines through the canopy in the Tongass National Forest. (U.S. Forest Service/Brian Logan) I am Xaawk'w Tláa Yolanda Fulmer, a Tlingit matriarch descended from the people of Glacier Bay. My home village is Hoonah, and I live in Juneau — the heart of the Tongass National Forest. When I was growing up in Ketchikan, I had the honor of listening to my elders talk about our relationship with the land and how deforestation affects the land and our cultural bearing with it. I consider it my responsibility to protect Haa Aaní: our land, our home, our identity. The Tongass isn't just a forest to us. It's our mother's breath, our clan histories, our food, our medicines and our way of being. Every tree, every stream and every salmon run carries the spirit of those who came before us and those who will come long after we are gone. Yet this land is facing a critical threat today in the form of a proposal to rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. Often called the Roadless Rule, this conservation measure has protected large swaths of our land here in the Tongass for most of the last two decades. The single action of rescinding it would open millions of acres across the rainforest to large-scale logging operations, mining and roadbuilding projects that were previously prohibited. [Related coverage: Trump administration moves ahead to end roadless rule on national forests] The Roadless Rule is one of the few safeguards strong enough to shield the Tongass from industrial logging and the long-term destruction and damage that follows. Upholding it honors our sovereignty, our stewardship and our traditional knowledge. It protects the carbon-rich forests that help stabilize the climate for everyone: not just Alaska, not just the Tlingit people, but the entire planet. Haa Aaní does not refer to land that we occupy — it's land that we are in a relationship with. Our authority to protect this land is part of the responsibility handed down by our ancestors and goes beyond the realm of federal agencies, corporate interests or political cycles. In this case, living up to our responsibility means defending the Roadless Rule. The Roadless Rule is not a political talking point — it's a promise. A promise that the last great temperate rainforest in the world will not be carved apart for short-term gain. ADVERTISEMENT The Roadless Rule further promises that Indigenous people who have lived in balance with these lands since time immemorial will continue to have access to clean water, healthy salmon and the quiet sanctuaries that our ancestors protected with their lives. Finally, it promises that our sovereignty — our inherent right to care for the land as our ancestors instructed — will continue to be supported. These promises will be broken if politicians in Washington, D.C., get their wish and the Roadless Rule is rescinded. Such an outcome would affect not only the Tongass in Southeast Alaska but national forests across the country, including Alaska's other national forest, the Chugach. All told, some 45 million acres of forested lands could lose protections against logging, mining, oil drilling and roadbuilding if this moves forward. The Forest Service has put out a proposal to do this and is currently accepting public input on its plan. Last year, when the idea was first floated, more than 625,000 people responded to the plan — and about 99% of them said 'no' to breaking the promise of the Roadless Rule. This time around, our voices must grow even louder. What we do now affects the rest of time and eternity. Now is the time for anyone who shares our concerns to speak out on behalf of the land. We are responsible for future generations. And it is time for us to make the best decisions for our future and the best decisions for our future generations. ADVERTISEMENT Yolanda Fulmer is a member of the Tlingit tribe, originally from Hoonah and now living in Juneau. • • • The Anchorage Daily News welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)adn.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser. Read our full guidelines for letters and commentaries here.