John,

A vast forest stretching as far as the eye can see. It's one of the largest remaining intact ecosystems in the world, and yet 1 million acres of this forest are cut down every year.1

We're losing the trees climbing up the face of mountains and lining the shores of brilliantly blue lakes. The beautiful boreal forest will keep shrinking and shrinking unless we do something about it.

To help defend our forests, our generous donors have agreed to match all year-end donations, up to $100,000 nationwide. Will you donate to help save the boreal? All donations made before midnight tomorrow will be matched dollar for dollar.

How important is the boreal forest? Consider this:

• The boreal is known as the "northern lungs of the world" because it does so much to help scrub pollution from the air we breathe.2

• It's been called "North America's bird nursery" because it provides nesting grounds for at least 3 billion birds, including snowy owls, trumpeter swans and songbirds.3

• The boreal forest is the world's largest intact forest, with trees spanning across 1.2 billion acres.4

And yet right now this ecologically vital forest is being cut down to be turned into toilet paper and timber.

The boreal forest is far too valuable to be used once and flushed away forever. That's why we're calling on companies like Costco, Amazon and Walmart to commit to not sell toilet paper from critical habitat in the boreal forest.

Donate now and your gift will be matched. That's twice the impact for our forests.

From the coast of Newfoundland to Alaska, the boreal provides habitat for lynx, wood bison, moose and endangered woodland caribou.5

But you don't have to travel hundreds of miles to experience the boreal's natural beauty. Just go outside and listen for the trilling song of a warbler or the lonely call of a common loon at dusk. Those birds likely spent some time in the boreal.

Or simply take a deep breath of fresh air. Our air is cleaner in part because boreal trees take in carbon dioxide and let out oxygen.

However, in the time it takes you to read this email, about three football fields' worth of boreal trees will be cut down, much of it to be pulped and rolled out into toilet paper.6

There are better, more sustainable sources of toilet paper. We're calling on Costco, Amazon and Walmart to make their toilet paper without boreal trees.

A commitment like this from these companies could have a ripple effect across the entire toilet paper market.

With your help, Environment Colorado is rallying the public to call on companies to help lead the way to save the boreal.

Donate today to help make sure the boreal forest doesn't get flushed away.

Thank you,

Ellen Montgomery

1. Ellen Montgomery, "Which big toilet paper brands are best for our forests?," Environment America, March 10, 2023.
2. "Boreal forests called 'northern lungs of the world,'" CBC, September 23, 2002.
3. Sammy Herdman, "Boreal's breeding birds: Iconic species of the North American boreal forest," Environment America Research & Policy Center, January 5, 2022.
4. Ellen Montgomery, "What can we do to keep the boreal forest from being flushed away?," Environment America, April 16, 2024.
5. "Boreal forest," Hinterland Who's Who, last accessed December 26, 2025.
6. Ellen Montgomery, "Which big toilet paper brands are best for our forests?," Environment America, March 10, 2023.

Your donation will be used to support all of our campaigns to protect the environment, from saving the bees and protecting public lands, to standing up for clean water and fighting climate change. None of our work would be possible without supporters like you. Environment Colorado may transfer up to $50 per dues-paying member per year into the Environment Colorado Small Donor Committee.