Saving our largest old-growth forest

Right now, the 800-year-old trees of the Tongass National Forest in Alaska are vulnerable to logging.

Forests

John Stout

Right now, the 800-year-old trees of the Tongass National Forest in Alaska are vulnerable to logging.

The Trump administration erased critical protections for the Tongass in 2020. Now the Biden administration is considering restoring those protections, saving one of the largest remaining temperate rainforests in the world from logging.

But, if we can rally enough support, this could be a huge win for this ancient forest and the grizzlies, eagles and moose that call it home.

Why is the Tongass so special?

The Tongass is full of fjords, mountains and dense groves of trees older than America. If we don’t protect this misty green wilderness, it will remain vulnerable to vast, irreparable damage. Once these towering trees fall, there is nothing we can do to replace their role in this delicate ecosystem.

The Tongass is also important for preventing climate change: It’s the largest carbon sink in North America. In order to protect this old-growth forest and its wildlife from logging, we need to join our voices and we need to be loud.

If we don’t voice our support for fully protecting the Tongass today, the logging industry could ruin the 9.2 million acres of lush habitat, and we could lose these irreplaceable trees forever.

We’ve won permanent protections before

The Roadless Rule protects treasured forests from logging and human development, ensuring our wild places stay wild. The Trump administration stripped the Tongass of these protections in late 2020, and the forest has been vulnerable ever since.

Our national network led the charge to establish the Roadless Rule in 2001, gathering 700,000 voices to petition for the protection of our national forests from logging. We’ve worked to defend the Tongass ever since, taking the Trump administration to court when it tried to resume logging, and rallying public support for this incredibly special place.
Now, we need your help to defend the Tongass and make sure one of our greatest forests is protected for good.

Learn More

Interested in learning more? Read more about our efforts to keep the Tongass — and our other ancient forests — wild.

Photo: Old-growth trees are critical for ecosystem health and shelter countless wildlife — including grizzly bears, Alexander Archipelago wolves and nesting bald eagles in the Tongass. Credit: USDA via Flickr, CC BY 2.0.

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John Stout

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