Friend — Alaska’s Tongass National Forest is a national treasure, but in 2018 the Trump administration made the dangerous decision to open huge areas of protected forest to destructive road-building and logging, putting wildlife, local communities, and the planet at risk.

The U.S. Forest Service is now proposing to restore critical protections to the 9.3 million acres of the Tongass that were stripped away by reinstating the National Roadless Rule in the Tongass, but they need to hear from you now.

Rulemaking around Tongass has historically driven hundreds of thousands of comments because people know that this pristine forest must be protected. It's critical that we again show the Administration that the public demands its protection with the roadless rule. The comment period ends on Monday — don’t miss your chance to make your voice heard in support of restoring key protections to this critical ecosystem.

4,600 of you have already taken action — we are almost halfway to our goal of 10,000. Tell the the Forest Service you support taking action to restore protections for the Tongass — an essential step in our fight in the climate crisis »

Protecting the Tongass National Forest is essential:

• The Tongass represents 44% of stored carbon across the entire national forest system — its old-growth forests, home to breathtaking ancient trees — many over 800 years old — must be protected as part of our natural climate solution strategy.
• The Tongass is one of the world's only remaining intact temperate rainforests, it has more biomass per acre than any other rainforest in the world and is home to rare and endangered local wildlife, including the largest bald eagle population in the world.
• The Tongass is of paramount importance as the ancestral and current home of the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian peoples, and the tribes' desire for the protection of these traditional lands is an essential part of the petition.

Protecting and restricting harmful development in the Tongass is essential to fulfill Biden's commitments to protect 30% of our nation's land and waters by 2030, for our fight against the climate crisis, and to protect Alaska's communities and long term economy.

Please speak out now before the comment period closes, it'll only take a few seconds to get us to 10,000 actions!

Take Action: submit your public comment today to the U.S. Forest Service in support of restoring protections for the Tongass National Forest before the final deadline »

Thank you!

Ben Alexandro
Senior Government Affairs Advocate, Conservation
League of Conservation Voters