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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Dubois, Idaho » Range Sheep Production Efficiency Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #403548
Research Project: Developing Rangeland Management Strategies to Enhance Productive, Sustainable Range Sheep Agroecosystems

Location: Range Sheep Production Efficiency Research

Title: Southeast Alaskans want food sovereignty and reimagined rural futures

Author
item Wilmer, Hailey
item KAMINSKI, ABIGAIL - Pacific Northwest Research Station
item WENDEL, KENDRA - Pacific Northwest Research Station
item GREWE, NICOLE - Pacific Northwest Research Station
item HRUSKA, TRACY - Columbia River Estuary Study Task Force
item CERVENY, LEE - Pacific Northwest Research Station
item BELLMORE, RYAN - Pacific Northwest Research Station
item MEEK, CHANDRA - University Of Alaska
item NELSON, KELLON - Pacific Northwest Research Station

Submitted to: Society and Natural Resources
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/29/2024
Publication Date: 2/28/2024
Citation: Wilmer, H.N., Kaminski, A.R., Wendel, K., Grewe, N., Hruska, T., Cerveny, L.K., Bellmore, R.J., Meek, C.L., Nelson, K. 2024. Southeast Alaskans want food sovereignty and reimagined rural futures. Society and Natural Resources. 37(7):1000-1016. https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2024.2321850.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2024.2321850

Interpretive Summary: The goal of this paper is to describe the local concerns that Southeast Alaskans have for the management of the nation’s largest national forest, the Tongass. We use a qualitative research method (thematic analysis) to evaluate nearly 200 public testimonies provided by Southeast Alaska community members as part of the federally mandated Roadless Rulemaking Subsistence Hearings in 2019. The six themes we develop explore speakers’ views of an Alaska exemption from the Roadless Rule, rural community connections to the forest ecosystem, visions for rural futures, and concerns with the rulemaking process. Explicit consideration of local concerns can inform a broader picture of public land management.

Technical Abstract: United States public lands are manged for multiple conservation, social, and commercial goals shaped by the visions of diverse interest groups. The rural economic and food-security needs of local public-lands-based communities have important implications for sustainable natural-resource management but can be obscured by national-scale public comment processes. To better understand local concerns and aspirations for management of the nation’s largest national forest, the Tongass, we use thematic analysis of public testimonies provided by Southeast Alaska community members as part of the federally mandated Roadless Rulemaking Subsistence Hearings in 2019. The six themes we develop explore speakers’ views of an Alaska exemption from the Roadless Rule, Alaska Native and rural community connections to the forest ecosystem, visions for rural futures, and concerns with the rulemaking process. Explicit consideration of local economic, food sovereignty, and federal rulemaking concerns can inform a broader picture of public land management.