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| Dear Friend, |
| Today, I’d like to invite you to breathe deeply and reflect on the power of your support through a recent victory. |
| Often called the “lungs of our country,” Alaska’s Tongass National Forest keeps over 3 billion tons of climate-warming carbon out of the atmosphere – 8% of the total carbon captured by all forests in the country. Yet in 2020, the Trump administration rolled back the Roadless Rule protections in the Tongass, opening centuries-old stands of old-growth trees to logging and destructive new roads. |
| Thanks to supporters like you, my Earthjustice colleagues and I (as well as our co-counsel at NRDC) were able to file a federal lawsuit challenging the rollback, fighting on behalf of five Alaska Native Tribes, southeast Alaska small businesses, commercial fishermen, and conservation organizations. In response to our lawsuit filing and partners’ advocacy, on July 15, the U.S. Forest Service announced it will go further than simply undoing the Trump-era rollback of the Roadless Rule. It will also end large-scale old-growth logging across all 17 million acres of the forest. |
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| While this commitment is a great victory, we must now hold the Forest Service to its word and secure protection for this critical habitat. We’re asking you to join us in the final push for this critical habitat. Look for our Action Alert in the coming weeks. |
| Earthjustice is committed to fighting these legal and political battles, whether they take years or decades. Since 2001, my colleagues and I have defended the Roadless Rule, helping to preserve about a third of our national forests and fending off numerous attempts to weaken its protection. Earthjustice could not hold this line without your continued generosity. Your gifts of time, financial partnership, and spirit sustain this fight. |
| Every victory, like this one you helped us achieve, is a cause for hope — an opportunity to take a deep breath and fill our lungs with the air we protected together. It is my honor to partner with Earthjustice supporters like you to continue defending our communities, climate, and wild places. Thank you for your part in this victory. |
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Sincerely,
Kate Glover
Senior Attorney |
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