Earthjustice

Hello again, friend

We’re updating you on the status of the Tongass National Forest — which we emailed you about in September. As the country’s attention is focused elsewhere, the Trump administration is trying to ram through as many destructive policies as it can — including exempting the Tongass from the Roadless Rule. On Thursday, the U.S. Forest Service opened the door for clear-cutting proposals that will threaten the lungs of our nation for the sake of logging profits.

The administration’s actions make no sense on any level. Clear cutting will irrevocably harm the Tlingit people’s use of these lands while destroying North America’s largest carbon sink precisely when we need it most. It’s not even profitable to log in the Tongass! The Forest Service would end up subsidizing this unnecessary destruction.

We’ve been successfully defending the Tongass from attacks for decades. Just this year we stopped a massive timber sale on Prince of Wales Island, an area of the Tongass outside of Roadless Rule protections — but more sales will be on the way because of the administration’s actions.

We’re carefully planning our next move, but you can help today. Congress needs to pass the Roadless Area Conservation Act, which would restore the Tongass’ protections. Please join us — even if you’ve already sent a letter — in writing your members of Congress to tell them the Tongass must be protected.

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The Tongass is under attack
The Trump administration gutted the Roadless Rule, putting the forest at risk

TAKE ACTION

Dear Friend,

The Trump administration removed crucial protections for Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, opening the door to clear-cutting of countless century-old trees at the behest of the logging industry. Alaska Natives such as the Tlingit, who have stewarded the land since time immemorial, asked the administration to delay until the pandemic is contained and tribal leaders have the bandwidth to engage with the process — and were ignored, to the detriment of tribes, the public, and our climate.

Tell Congress to protect the United States’ largest national forest from devastating logging!

The Tongass National Forest in Alaska is a rare temperate rainforest. It provides vital habitat for eagles, bears, wolves, salmon, and numerous other species. The Tlingit rely upon its lands and waters for their way of life and culture. Its wild salmon support a commercial fishery central to the local economy. And visitors from around the world travel to the Tongass for world-class recreation, hunting, sport, and fishing. The Tongass is America’s Amazon — a vast and priceless carbon reserve that must be protected to battle climate change.

These unique and irreplaceable values of the Tongass National Forest have been protected by the Roadless Rule, one of the most popular conservation measures of the last century. Implemented in 2001, the Roadless Rule prevents clearcutting and other damaging activities in about 56 million acres of national forestland across the country. Nevertheless, the Trump administration directed the Forest Service to exempt the Tongass from the Roadless ule.

Act now to stop the administration’s reckless pursuit of permanent ecological and cultural destruction by urging your members of Congress to support and push for the Roadless Area Conservation Act to defend and protect the Tongass, and our forests across the country.

The Tongass’ rich wildlife and majestic forest stands, the vital sustainable industries dependent on the healthy forest, the rights of indigenous peoples in Southeast Alaska, and our national imperative to fight climate change should take precedence over the demands of a few corporations and their lobbyists wanting to open some of the last remaining old-growth temperate rainforests in the country to clear-cut logging.

Tell Congress to stop the Forest Service from putting corporate profits above the public interest and to protect our national forests, our air, and our water for future generations!

TAKE ACTION

Sincerely,
Eric Jorgensen
Managing Attorney

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Photo Credits: Herbert River is born from the meltwaters of the Herbert Glacier as it winds its way down through granite peaks and cliffs towards the sea, Juneau Ice Field, Juneau, Alaska. (John Hyde).