Anonymous,
One of the world's great forests -- and the eagles, bears and other wildlife that call it home -- needs our help over the next two weeks.
The Trump administration has been talking for more than a year about opening up more than 9 million acres of Alaska's Tongass National Forest for logging and other destructive development -- and now it has officially released its proposal.[1]
Tell the U.S. Forest Service before Dec. 16: No logging in the Tongass National Forest.
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The Tongass is home to some of the oldest trees in America, many of them older than the nation itself.[2] Hundreds of species of birds nest in those trees, including the largest known concentration of bald eagles. Beneath the forest canopy lies a vast, diverse ecosystem. Animals that have become uncommon elsewhere in the country find refuge in the Tongass: Grizzly bears, Alexander Archipelago wolves, mountain goats and more thrive in the Tongass.[3]
It's one of the shrinking number of truly wild places we have left. But logging has threatened it for decades. That's why, in 2001, our national network helped convince President Clinton to enact the Roadless Area Conservation Rule.
The Roadless Rule is based on a simple idea: If a place is still wild, it should stay that way. It protects 9.2 million acres of untamed roadless land in the Tongass, along with nearly 60 million acres of land across the country, from development.
We helped win the Roadless Rule nearly two decades ago. We have until Dec. 16 to make sure the Tongass doesn't lose its protection.
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From now until Dec. 16, the Forest Service is accepting public comments on the proposal to strip Roadless Rule protections from the Tongass. This is our chance to make our voices heard.[4]
There's no place in America quite like the Tongass. It was there long before you or I were born, and it should remain for future generations to experience its natural beauty. We can't let it be destroyed for short-term gain.
Join us in calling on the Forest Service to keep the Tongass wild.
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Thank you for making it all possible.
Sincerely,
Hannah Collazo
State Director
1. "USDA Forest Service Seeks Public Comment on Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Alternatives to a Proposed Alaska Roadless Rule," U.S. Department of Agriculture, October 15, 2019.
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2. Brendan Jones, "Trees older than America: a primeval Alaskan forest is at risk in the Trump era," The Guardian, March 22, 2018.
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3. "Tongass National Forest," U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, last accessed October 23, 2019.
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4. "USDA Forest Service Seeks Public Comment on Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Alternatives to a Proposed Alaska Roadless Rule," U.S. Department of Agriculture, October 15, 2019.
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