美国国家公共电台 NPR For Many, Issue Of Logging In America's Largest National Forest Cuts Deep

 

MADDIE SOFIA, HOST:

You're listening to SHORT WAVE from NPR. Maddie Sofia here with our very own SHORT WAVE reporter and sometimes-host Emily Kwong. What do you got for us today?

EMILY KWONG, BYLINE¹: Well, I have a story about the largest intact temperate² rainforest in the world. And guess where it is.

SOFIA: Come on.

KWONG: It's in Alaska.

SOFIA: Alaska - yes, Alaska. That's where you used to report.

KWONG: Yes. Before SHORT WAVE, I was reporting for an NPR member station, KCAW, in the Tongass National Forest. That's the largest national forest in America and the setting for a classic Alaskan radio show - "Encounters."

SOFIA: "Encounters."

(SOUNDBITE OF RADIO SHOW, "ENCOUNTERS")

SOFIA: Oh.

KWONG: This is the intro.

(SOUNDBITE OF RADIO SHOW, "ENCOUNTERS")

RICHARD NELSON: Hi. I'm Richard Nelson from "Encounters," the program of observations, experiences and reflections on the world around us.

SOFIA: I really love it.

KWONG: Yeah, Richard Nelson is a legend in southeast Alaska. He's a scientist. And as I play you a clip from his show, I want you to imagine this place that's 3,000 miles from where we are in Washington, D.C.

(SOUNDBITE OF RADIO SHOW, "ENCOUNTERS")

NELSON: Well, it's a perfect time here in the middle of summer to get far away from the clatter³ and racket of life in town and savor⁴ the quiet and tranquility. It makes me think of lines from a classic Robert Service poem, "The Spell Of The Yukon," where he writes, (reading) it's the green...

SOFIA: Oh, my God, is he reading us poetry?

KWONG: Yeah.

SOFIA: You never read me poetry.

KWONG: I brought you Richard Nelson.

(SOUNDBITE OF RADIO SHOW, "ENCOUNTERS")

NELSON: ...It's the beauty that fills me with wonder. It's the stillness that fills me with peace. But often, as right now...

SOFIA: I'm so into this.

KWONG: That's the Tongass. A lot of people are talking about it right now because, last week, the Trump⁵ administration announced it intends to open access for logging and road construction there. And this has implications far beyond Alaska.

SOFIA: OK. So today on the show, we talk about the role of the Tongass National Forest.

KWONG: And how a policy change could impact trees that have been storing carbon for centuries.

SOFIA: OK. So we're talking about the Tongass National Forest. Where do you want to start?

KWONG: I want to start with Anthony Christianson.

SOFIA: OK.

KWONG: People call him Tony. He was born in Hydaburg, Alaska, on Prince of Wales Island. The population there is just shy 400.

SOFIA: A little baby town.

KWONG: That's true. And Tony is the mayor. He knows the Tongass well, because he lives in it.

ANTHONY CHRISTIANSON: A lot of people say the forest here is almost impenetrable. It's so thick and you can't see anything. So, you know, it runs right from the beach fringe to the top of the mountains we have here on Prince of Wales.

KWONG: The Tongass is massive - nearly 17 million acres. And walking through it, Maddie, it's like being in a fantasy novel, I must say. If you can imagine, you have hemlock⁶ and red cedar⁷, yellow cedar, spruce trees. Some of them are enormous - skyscrapers⁸, wide as cars. We're not talking exactly about trees you can hug.

SOFIA: You don't know how long my arms are.

KWONG: (Laughter) We're talking about old-growth forest, some of the most ancient trees in America - 400, 500, even 800-plus years old. And it's here that Tony and his family have hunted and fished for generations. Tony is a member of the Haida tribe and the Tongass is their indigenous⁹ land.

CHRISTIANSON: I am comprised of the elements of the land around me because I've lived on deer meat and berries and fish my whole life. It's the main staple¹⁰ at my family dinner. I mean, last night was fried sockeye and greens off the beach. And so it definitely shapes the community here.

SOFIA: And I have to imagine it has, like, a pretty big role in the economy, too.

KWONG: Absolutely. You know, he grew up on the deck of a fishing boat. The Tongass is a huge spawning¹¹ site for wild salmon¹² on the West Coast. And as a teenager in the 1990s, Tony found work through the logging industry. His family operated a tugboat that helped load massive trees onto ships for export to China, Japan and other places.

How big were these logs that you were pulling on to the tugboat?

CHRISTIANSON: Some of the timber is huge. When you're getting into old-growth, you're talking, you know, five, six feet across the butt¹³.

KWONG: Wow - that's massive.

CHRISTIANSON: Yeah, they're massive trees when you're logging old-growth.

KWONG: This is peak timber. Prince of Wales was dotted with logging camps in this time.

CHRISTIANSON: So just a lot of companies, a lot of people working in the industry and, you know, money was flowing. Those timber corporations were logging a lot of timber and making money at it.

KWONG: This happened in Sitka, too, where I used to live. Trees have long been economically important to the region. But they're critical for something else, too - sucking carbon out of the atmosphere. Do you know about the carbon cycle?

SOFIA: I've heard of her.

KWONG: It's that cycle where trees draw carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and lock it away for centuries, store it in their leaves and stems, branches and roots. And that natural process of carbon sequestration in trees - it's really critical when we think about, you know, how much excess carbon is in the atmosphere.

SOFIA: So from, like, a global warming perspective, this is pretty important.

KWONG: Exactly.

DOMINICK DELLASALA: We need those rainforests to survive.

KWONG: That's Dominick DellaSala, chief scientist for the Geos Institute in Oregon.

DELLASALA: And the trees will do fine without us, but they're pulling that carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and acting¹⁴ as the planet's lungs.

KWONG: So you can imagine why Dominick was pretty distraught when news broke last week that the U.S. Forest Service wants to exempt¹⁵ Alaska from something called the Roadless Rule.

SOFIA: What's that?

KWONG: Well, the Roadless Rule has been kicking around since the Clinton administration. It bans road building and logging on designated areas. But the Forest Service, at the request of Alaskan leadership like Senator Lisa Murkowski...

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

LISA MURKOWSKI: So you know I always have to talk about the Tongass when we're talking about our U.S. - our forests.

KWONG: She and other lawmakers have been pushing for a change to the Roadless Rule for years.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MURKOWSKI: But about 93% of its lands are off-limits to most development, which certainly does not benefit the 32 islanded communities that are located there. It's really hard to have an economy when everything is off limits to you. More access is needed...

KWONG: And the Trump administration appears to be on board with that. Last week, the Forest Service said it preferred the most extreme option in changing the Roadless Rule - to end all road-building restrictions¹⁶ in the Tongass. It makes 165,000 acres of old-growth forest open for logging.

SOFIA: Right. OK. So this is obviously a very complicated situation, but from a strictly¹⁷ environmental perspective, is that bad?

KWONG: Well, it's troubling, right? If you consider that the Tongass contains an estimated 8% of carbon in America's forests, cutting that down would undoubtedly¹⁸ release carbon into the atmosphere.

SOFIA: And how is that?

KWONG: Well, one way he measures what's lost is through something called the leaky bucket metaphor¹⁹.

SOFIA: OK. Go on.

KWONG: Picture the forest as a big bucket of water with holes in it.

SOFIA: Done.

KWONG: As long as water is falling into the bucket at the same rate as it's leaking out, there's no net loss of that water, right? Same with carbon - so as long as the forest can capture the same amount of carbon as is being lost through tree death and decomposition²⁰, even logging, it's OK.

DELLASALA: But if you cut down that forest, all of a sudden you have punched really big holes in the bucket. And so even though the forest is growing back, you've punched so many holes in that bucket you've lost most of the carbon in the original forest bucket. And those holes are so big from the logging you never really capture the amount of carbon that was in the original forest bucket.

KWONG: So when a tree is cut down in a forest, Dominick definitely cares. And remember Tony, the mayor in Hydaburg we spoke²¹ with earlier?

SOFIA: Yeah.

KWONG: He cares, too. He used to earn a living through the logging industry as a young man, but one day while he was out on a skiff - a little boat - he went by his traditional hunting grounds. While cruising the channel, he looked across the landscape and you know what he saw?

SOFIA: What?

KWONG: Clearcut logging - huge swaths of land without trees. He had been a part of the industry for over a decade, remember? But this site, so close to home, hurt his soul.

CHRISTIANSON: I'm supposed to be a big tough guy, you know, and that definitely hit me hard. I had a moment there where I cried a couple of tears, to be honest. It hit me in that way, you know. It was enough that I had felt like I had lost something or somebody that was pretty special to me at that moment.

KWONG: And it's one of the reasons he changed careers. He's now the director of natural resources for the Hydaburg Cooperative Association, the local tribe, weighing in on how the forest is used.

CHRISTIANSON: I ended up in the - working for almost 20 years now offsetting²² some of that timber activity and what it did to the landscape, so...

KWONG: Now, I should say the timber industry in Southeast Alaska is a shadow of what it used to be in the late 20th century, and relaxing the Roadless Rule will likely create jobs. But it would also do the kinds of things to the environment that Tony fears. Alaskans are already struggling with climate change. The state is heating up twice as fast as the global average.

SOFIA: I mean, this feels like a lot of the climate reporting we do, right? It's not straightforward²³. There are people that need jobs. The economy, you know, obviously needs to prosper²⁴ in those areas. But it's, you know, at the cost of the environment, which they also depend on. So what happens now?

KWONG: So the Forest Service - they've put out this paper, a draft environmental impact statement on what will happen to the Tongass if the Roadless Rule is changed. And there's 60 days for the public to weigh in on that decision. We don't know what's going to happen with it. It's all up to the secretary of agriculture, Sonny Perdue. He'll make a final decision about the Tongass, about the Roadless Rule by June 2020.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

SOFIA: I'm Maddie Sofia. This is SHORT WAVE from NPR. Tune²⁵ in tomorrow to hear about how researchers are trying to prevent people from hacking²⁶ AI.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 temperate   

adj.温和的，温带的，自我克制的，不过分的

参考例句：

• Asia extends across the frigid,temperate and tropical zones.亚洲地跨寒、温、热三带。
• Great Britain has a temperate climate.英国气候温和。

3 clatter   

v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声

参考例句：

• The dishes and bowls slid together with a clatter.碟子碗碰得丁丁当当的。
• Don't clatter your knives and forks.别把刀叉碰得咔哒响。

4 savor   

vt.品尝，欣赏；n.味道，风味；情趣，趣味

参考例句：

• The soup has a savor of onion.这汤有洋葱味。
• His humorous remarks added a savor to our conversation.他幽默的话语给谈话增添了风趣。

5 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

6 hemlock   

n.毒胡萝卜，铁杉

参考例句：

• He was condemned to drink a cup of hemlock.判处他喝一杯毒汁。
• Here is a beech by the side of a hemlock,with three pines at hand.这儿有株山毛榉和一株铁杉长在一起，旁边还有三株松树。

7 cedar   

n.雪松，香柏(木)

参考例句：

• The cedar was about five feet high and very shapely.那棵雪松约有五尺高,风姿优美。
• She struck the snow from the branches of an old cedar with gray lichen.她把长有灰色地衣的老雪松树枝上的雪打了下来。

8 skyscrapers   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• A lot of skyscrapers in Manhattan are rising up to the skies. 曼哈顿有许多摩天大楼耸入云霄。
• On all sides, skyscrapers rose like jagged teeth. 四周耸起的摩天大楼参差不齐。

9 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

10 staple   

n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类

参考例句：

• Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
• Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。

11 spawning   

产卵

参考例句：

• Encounter sites have a small chance of spawning a "Commander" NPC. 遭遇战地区有很小的几率遇到NPC指挥官。
• Instantly revives your Champion at your Spawning Pool, 9 minute cooldown. 立即在出生地复活你的英雄，冷却时间9分钟。

12 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？

13 butt   

n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶

参考例句：

• The water butt catches the overflow from this pipe.大水桶盛接管子里流出的东西。
• He was the butt of their jokes.他是他们的笑柄。

14 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

15 exempt   

adj.免除的；v.使免除；n.免税者，被免除义务者

参考例句：

• These goods are exempt from customs duties.这些货物免征关税。
• He is exempt from punishment about this thing.关于此事对他已免于处分。

16 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

17 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

18 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

19 metaphor   

n.隐喻，暗喻

参考例句：

• Using metaphor,we say that computers have senses and a memory.打个比方，我们可以说计算机有感觉和记忆力。
• In poetry the rose is often a metaphor for love.玫瑰在诗中通常作为爱的象征。

20 decomposition   

n. 分解, 腐烂, 崩溃

参考例句：

• It is said that the magnetite was formed by a chemical process called thermal decomposition. 据说这枚陨星是在热分解的化学过程中形成的。
• The dehydration process leads to fairly extensive decomposition of the product. 脱水过程会导致产物相当程度的分解。

21 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

22 offsetting   

n.偏置法v.抵消( offset的现在分词 )；补偿；（为了比较的目的而）把…并列（或并置）；为（管道等）装支管

参考例句：

• Dealers, having concluded a forward contract, should always hedge with an offsetting contract. 外汇经营商在签订了一项远期合同之后总是应进行套头交易签订一项相抵合同。 来自辞典例句
• Where does Germany think offsetting shifts into greater external deficits might occur? 在德国看来，这么大的外部赤字应该转移到哪里？ 来自互联网

23 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

24 prosper   

v.成功，兴隆，昌盛；使成功，使昌隆，繁荣

参考例句：

• With her at the wheel,the company began to prosper.有了她当主管，公司开始兴旺起来。
• It is my earnest wish that this company will continue to prosper.我真诚希望这家公司会继续兴旺发达。

25 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

26 hacking   

n.非法访问计算机系统和数据库的活动

参考例句：

• The patient with emphysema is hacking all day. 这个肺气肿病人整天不断地干咳。
• We undertook the task of hacking our way through the jungle. 我们负责在丛林中开路。