Today I’ve been in Sitka for two weeks, and I have a stack of certification cards: Survival Egress Aviation Safety 4 Hour Dunker Course, Heartsaver (r) Bloodborne Pathogens, Coastal Kayak Basic Strokes & Rescues, 4-Hour Defensive Driving Course, First Aid/CPR/AED and a visitor status library card with the Kettleson Memorial Library. I didn’t get cards for aviation user safety, bear behavior & bear spray, Forest Service radio operation, hazmat first responder, or boat orientation, but I think I am getting a government driver’s liscense with an endorsement for ATVs, because I got trained for that, too.

So, you can tell that I am now very well prepared to fulfill my work plan, which directs me to write a factsheet on Tongass salmon, briefing sheets on watershed restoration projects on the Tongass National Forest, profiles of Forest Service staff involved in fisheries and watersheds, profiles of community members who rely on salmon, some glossy publications about all the fisheries and watersheds programs…

Actually, I am not being entirely facetious, since to get the info for the materials I’ll be producing, I will be spending some time “in the field,” as they say, and so will be traveling by boat, small plane, and quite possibly ATV or even kayak to get out there.

Out thar, because they are places that are only tenuously connected to what might be referred to as “civilization.” And I’ll let you know some lat and long when I go places and know them, but I know the plan is to go to Prince of Wales Island in about two weeks. POW is in the top five largest islands in the US, and is also one of the most heavily logged places in the Tongass NF.

In the reading I’ve done so far, I’ve started identifying stories, and one of the ones I think has the most potential is on POW. With the heavy logging there, and past practices really tearing up the landscape, there is a bit of flowing water there that got the name Fubar Creek. (If you’re not familiar with the term, let me direct you to the Urban Dictionary.) But Fubar Creek is a tributary into a larger bit of flowing water called the Harris River, and there has been a big watershed restoration effort going on there. I know it’s big, because the documents I’ve seen mention things like “Harris River Phase IV.” It seems like a really good place to use as a microcosm demonstrating the trajectory of the Tongass as a whole, and the name is priceless.

I should mention that one of the FS folks told me Fubar Creek will be officially renamed this summer, which is all the better, because nothing should be Fubar forever, especially in a National Forest. But if you were flipping through a paper, or, — let’s be realistic — scrolling through headlines online, wouldn’t Fubar Creek catch your eye? Wouldn’t you start reading that story?