What We Do

We work at the intersection of cultural, economic, and ecological well being.

The Sustainable Southeast Partnership (SSP) addresses complex social, environmental, and economic challenges through purposeful collaboration.

For nearly ten years, SSP has worked to catalyze community-driven initiatives that improve the quality of life and resiliency of Southeast Alaskans.

Our network is based on commitment across organizations and individuals to a common agenda, shared infrastructure, continuous communication, mutually reinforcing activities, and a shared measurement framework. 

Members of the network  leverage their unique perspectives, expertise, experiences, resources and insight to catalyze on-the ground initiatives that build cultural, ecological, and economic prosperity for our communities and region. 

We are process focused and values-driven and prioritize trust and relationship building. We meet virtually every month, and in-person as a full Partnership twice a year to identify, and act on, opportunities to collaborate. We mobilize a robust communications and storytelling program that helps to connect our communities, inspire and empower local leadership, and share opportunities and resources across rural Southeast.

Our Work on the Ground

From Culture Camps and affordable housing projects to school lunch programs and community-led land management collaboratives, our catalysts initiate meaningful projects across Southeast Alaska.

  • Abundant Lands & Waters

    The health and prosperity of our communities are inextricably linked to the health of our coastal rainforest. Our partners support sustainability-focused, community-driven stewardship. We work with private, state, and federal land managers to ensure local priorities, local employment, and Indigenous values, are paramount to the treatment of local lands and waters.

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  • Food Sovereignty

    Our partners work to forge resilient food systems that decrease dependence on outside sources, eliminate waste streams, promote knowledge and skill sharing networks, support tribal food sovereignty, cultivate place-based food enterprises and improve household and community health.

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  • Localized Economy

    Our partners support place-based economies where locally-owned and operated businesses thrive, natural resources are used sustainably and our unique cultural resources are honored. We work together to ensure that more money, more expertise, more job opportunities and more business leadership remains in our rural villages.

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  • Energy Independence

    Our partners are committed to renewable energy solutions that are clean, reliable, and affordable. Through education and awareness, we strive to reduce Southeast Alaska’s dependence on expensive outside energy by innovating and supporting local efforts to reduce costs and improve efficiency of existing energy resources for transportation, homes, commercial and public buildings.

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  • Cultural Vitality

    Our partners promote cultural vitality, community health and collective well-being. We recognize that supporting the healing process from colonial trauma and the exploitation of people, lands and resources is foundational to our work. Through focused training that decolonize and indigenize internal processes and systems, to community programs that celebrate, and honor our Tlingit, Haida, and Tshimsian partner’s cultural heritage, we work to promote respect and understanding across Southeast. 

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    • Dive Deeper

    The following publications explore the origin of our Partnership, describe and quantify the value of our collaboration, and share the voices of our partners.

  • Gulf of Alaska Fisheries Limitation Study

    Koniag, Sealaska, The Nature Conservancy, Rasmuson Foundation, Spruce Root, SSP

    This study investigates the socioeconomic and cultural impacts of fisheries access limitation programs, such as limited entry and individual fishing quotas (IFQs), on Alaska Native villages in the Gulf of Alaska. The research documents how these programs have altered local economies, disrupted cultural practices, and contributed to outmigration. A 2024 survey of over 4,300 Koniag and Sealaska shareholders and descendants reveals that fishing is a central element of economic and cultural life, with 98% of respondents affirming its importance. However, 80% report that limited access to fisheries has led to significant community crises. Since the introduction of limited entry in the 1970’s, permit ownership in key fisheries has declined by 32%, with the Koniag region experiencing a more severe decline of 63%. Halibut quota ownership has also fallen by 69%. The Community Quota Entity (CQE) program, aimed at restoring some access, has had limited success. The survey results emphasize that fishing is a vital part of cultural identity and village sustainability, with 90% of respondents stating that village survival depends on access to fisheries. Strikingly, only 12-13% of respondents have any current engagement in commercial fishing; only 11% agree that the future looks good for young people who stay in the regional villages. In contrast, the Metlakatla Indian Community, while experiencing similar trends with limited entry and IFQs, manages their own active Tribal fisheries where fishing participation, youth engagement, and earnings are high. The study suggests that significant policy reforms to restore fishing access, especially for Indigenous youth, are necessary to avoid continued economic decline and negative social and cultural impacts. The report calls for targeted policies to support fishing livelihoods and village sustainability in the Gulf of Alaska.

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  • Woven: Peoples & Place, Issue 01, 2024

    Bethany Sonsini Goodrich, Lee House, and Shaelene Grace Moler

    Built entirely in-house by our growing storytelling team, Woven: Peoples & Place is our love letter to the Sustainable Southeast Partnership because as storytellers, we have seen and reported on the positive life-changing impacts of this work for many years. We believe in the power behind these stories and hope that you will too. These stories and voices are connected because we are connected: woven together we are strong. 

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  • Possible Futures for Southeast Alaska

    by Spruce Root and REOS Partners for The Sustainable Southeast Partnership

    The Scenarios for the Future of Southeast Alaska are stories about what could happen in Southeast in the future, from 2025 to 2050. They are not stories about what will happen (forecasts) or what should happen (a vision). Rather, the scenarios hypothesize different ways the future could unfold for the region’s communities, economy, environment, and culture. The purpose of these stories is to offer a shared language for talking together about what is possible and what must be done.

    The starting point for these stories is the current environment. While some things about the future are certain and constant, such as Southeast’s geography, these scenarios explore what is uncertain about the future, considering both factors within the region and external to it.

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