Please help save the Tongass National Forest
#Tongass #NationalForest #Forest #Rainforest #Alaska #RoadlessRule #NRDC #RandyMoore #Chief #USForestService #Letter
"Before leaving office, Trump stripped protections from 9 million acres of Alaska's pristine Tongass National Forest in a blatant giveaway to logging companies and other corporate interests.
More than a year later, the Tongass — the heart of the largest intact temperate rainforest in the entire world — is still unprotected.
It's up to the Biden administration now to follow through on its promise to undo Trump's damage and restore protections for these wildlands. As they begin the mandatory rule-making process, administration officials need to hear from as many people like you and me as possible — people who care deeply about the Tongass, all cherished wildlands, and our climate.
The administration is seeking public input on this plan — but only until January 24.
The Trump administration gutted protections for the Tongass by rolling back something called the Roadless Rule, which protected these wildlands from industrial logging by prohibiting companies from harvesting timber and building roads through the forest.
Even as many other public lands have been invaded by industrial development over the years, the Roadless Rule has kept the Tongass virtually pristine.
The benefits are impossible to overstate. The Roadless Rule has:
🔹 Helped preserve the traditional and cultural practices of the region's Indigenous communities who have relied on these lands for millennia
🔹 Protected millions of acres of irreplaceable old growth trees that store more carbon per acre than almost any other forest on the planet, making it an absolutely critical tool as we fight the climate crisis
🔹 Preserved the habitats of wildlife species like the Alexander Archipelago wolf, brown and black bears, salmon, and bald eagles
🔹 Powered the local economy, which relies heavily on fishing and tourism
For these reasons and more, NRDC has been fighting for decades against corporate interests to defend the Tongass. So, when the Trump administration rolled back protections, we joined with Indigenous communities and rushed to court to stop them.
But the fight isn't over. We must ensure that the Biden administration feels the pressure from activists like you and follows through on its promise to save the Tongass by reinstating the Roadless Rule.
Thank you for standing with us again and again and for fighting for the Tongass.
Sincerely,
Garett Rose
Senior Policy Advocate, Nature, NRDC"
