John,

So much life is supported by a single tree in the boreal forest.

In its crown, migrating song birds build their nests, while a pine marten raises her young in the hollow left by a fallen branch. Beetles travel beneath the bark's surface as lichen cling to the trunk's exterior where they make an appealing treat for a passing woodland caribou.1

But in a blink, the basis of this vital ecosystem can be felled, trucked away, stripped and sliced into 2x4s sold at your local home improvement store.

Join us in urging Ace Hardware to commit to not sourcing wood from critical habitat in the boreal.

Spanning from the Yukon to the tip of Newfoundland and Labrador, the North American boreal forest is like no other. This natural wonder sustains hundreds of different species of animals while absorbing and storing huge amounts of carbon, making it one of our best lines of defense against climate change.2

The boreal is also being logged at a devastating rate of 1 million acres per year. Since 1976, an area of forest roughly the size of New York State has been lost to logging in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec alone.3,4

With massive swaths already relegated to cemeteries of stumps, this "intact forest" may not be such for much longer. It's imperative that home improvement stores like Ace Hardware act swiftly and commit to not selling boreal wood.

Tell Ace Hardware: The trees of the boreal belong in the forest.

By committing to not sourcing wood from undisturbed parts of the boreal, Ace Hardware would not only be preserving the boreal, it would be setting a powerful example of environmental responsibility within the home improvement industry.

There are other materials that can be used to build decks and floors, but there is only one boreal forest that can sustain endangered woodland caribou and the 3 billion birds that fly north each year to rear their young.5

Improvements on our homes shouldn't be made at the expense of the homes of boreal wildlife. Tell Ace Hardware: Commit to not using boreal wood today.

Thank you,

Ellen Montgomery

1. "Canada's Boreal Forest," Hinterland Who's Who, last accessed March 5, 2025.
2. Ellen Montgomery and Sammy Herdman, "Threatened by logging, the boreal forest needs our help," Environment America, September 27, 2022.
3. Ellen Montgomery and Sammy Herdman, "Threatened by logging, the boreal forest needs our help," Environment America, September 27, 2022.
4. Ian Austen and Vjosa Isai, "Canada's Logging Industry Devours Forests Crucial to Fighting Climate Change," The New York Times, January 4, 2024.
5. Ellen Montgomery and Sammy Herdman, "Threatened by logging, the boreal forest needs our help," Environment America, September 27, 2022.