Breathe a Sigh of Relief: Old-Growth Tongass Safe Again
An Environment Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM Center for Biological Diversity
July 2021

There’s more to do to protect this precious natural resource, but we’re breathing easier knowing that centuries-old trees, sparkling rivers and rare wildlife — from salmon to bald eagles to grizzlies — are a lot safer.

In a big win for the climate, wildlife and Indigenous peoples, the Biden administration has ended large-scale old-growth logging in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest.

The Tongass is one of the world’s largest intact temperate old-growth rainforests and the crown jewel of our national forest system. It’s the ancestral home of the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian peoples. And it’s one of Earth’s major carbon sinks, key for countering the climate crisis that threatens us all.

In 2020 the Trump administration stripped the forest of protections that had been in place for almost two decades, opening millions of acres of pristine wilderness to road building and logging. Biden’s order restores those protections and adds new ones.

Thank you for speaking up for the Tongass through our action alerts and supporting our court battle. There’s more to do to protect this precious natural resource, but we’re breathing easier knowing that centuries-old trees, sparkling rivers and rare wildlife — from salmon to bald eagles to grizzlies — are a lot safer.

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