To: U.S. Forest Service Tongass National Forest Supervisor and Thomas J. Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture
TAKE ACTION: Stop Old-Growth Clear-Cutting in the Tongass National Forest
As someone who cares about protecting America's rainforest for future generations, I strongly urge the U.S. Forest Service to put a quick end to large-scale old-growth logging in the Tongass National Forest.
The draft forest plan is completely inconsistent with USDA's May 2010 announcement to quickly transition the Tongass away from the large-scale old-growth logging that has already damaged this extraordinary public treasure. More logging jeopardizes fish and wildlife species that depend on the Tongass old-growth habitat.
Delegates to the Paris climate talks identified protecting the Earth's forests as one of the most important means of curbing the damaging effects of climate change. Ancient forests like the Tongass help reduce global warming by keeping carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. But logging exacerbates warming, releasing enormous amounts of carbon back into the air.
The Tongass is carbon-rich, storing substantially more carbon than any other U.S. national forest. That's why it is so important to protect its ancient forests, instead of locking in another decade or more of climate-damaging devastation.
The Forest Service should not miss this important opportunity to transition the Tongass quickly away from large-scale old-growth logging, which is completely dependent on taxpayer subsidies and creates few local jobs, yet threatens the sustainable fishing and tourism jobs that serve as the backbone of the regional economy.
I urge you to chart a diverse, sustainable economic future for southeast Alaska based on restoration, recreation, fishing and tourism. Adopting a forest plan that commits the Tongass to more than a decade of large-scale logging will do irretrievable damage to our country's rainforest and to southeast Alaska communities. I ask that the Forest Service act swiftly and strongly to protect this national treasure by creating a plan for the Tongass that safeguards its wild roadless areas and quickly ends large-scale old-growth logging.
Thank you for considering my comments.
Why is this important?
Last year the U.S. Forest Service approved the Big Thorne timber sale in the Tongass National Forest—the largest, most destructive old-growth clear-cutting project in more than 20 years.
Earthjustice is in court today fighting to stop Big Thorne, but if we don’t act soon the Forest Service could approve a forest plan for the Tongass that would allow more large-scale old-growth timber sales just like it for another decade or more, instead of the quick end to old-growth logging in the Tongass promised by the administration in 2010.
We can save the Tongass rainforest—but we need your urgent help now to tell agency officials they should quickly bring an end to destructive and controversial large-scale old-growth logging.
The Tongass is one of the few remaining old-growth temperate rainforests in the world, and America’s largest national forest. Towering stands of 700-year-old trees provide vital habitat for countless species, including the Alexander Archipelago wolf.
An ancient, carbon-rich forest, the Tongass helps to moderate global climate change. Delegates to the Paris climate talks agreed that protecting the Earth’s forests is one of the most important means of curbing the damaging effects of climate change. Protecting Tongass old-growth is an essential step the United States must take to meet the climate imperative coming out of the Paris talks.
A stronghold for all five species of Pacific salmon, the Tongass supports a thriving fishing industry as well as a booming tourism industry, as people from across the country visit to enjoy its world-class recreation, hunting and sport and commercial fishing opportunities. The communities of southeast Alaska depend on the bounty of the Tongass and its lands and waters for subsistence practices, recreation and livelihoods.
Take action now to protect the Tongass National Forest and reject old-growth logging.