Photo by Amy Li, US Forest Service
What do the last of our country's old growth forests mean to you? The Biden administration is asking this question as they reevaluate a Trump era decision allowing logging and development in the Tongass National Forest -- an ancient forest that supports Alaska Native communities, wildlife, and acts as one of the greatest climate protectors we have.
The Tongass National Forest is an irreplaceable resource and a bulwark against climate disruption, but it is also even more important to the Native people who have called it home for tens of thousands of years. Unfortunately right now we only have until Monday, January 24, to show our support for restoring Roadless Rule protections to the Tongass and putting an end to a rule that allows logging in this old growth forest.
Alaska Native communities have long led the fight to protect the Tongass. These lands are crucial for those who rely on the forest for clean water, hunting, fishing and wild harvest as a matter of survival. But the forest provides more than subsistence: it is sacred land to Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian Alaska Native communities and integral to cultural and spiritual practices.
Tongass National Forest photo by Amy Li, US Forest Service
Joel Jackson, President of the Organized Village of Kake, recently said about the Tongass, "Communities in Southeast Alaska and beyond have depended on this intact forest since time immemorial. Our Native peoples' way of life is inextricably linked with these lands and waters. We hunt, gather, fish, and harvest our medicines in this pristine forest that our ancestors stewarded for more than 10,000 years. The Tongass can no longer be viewed as stands of timber waiting for harvest; it must be viewed as a cultural and global resource that must be managed for the benefit of its local people, for the long-term productivity of its salmon streams and wildlife habitat, and a global resource that mitigates impacts from climate change."
Old growth forests are one of our best tools in the important fight against climate disruption. The Tongass alone captures eight percent of the annual US carbon emissions, earning it the nickname "America's climate forest." These forests are also home to more than 300 mammal and bird species, as well as five species of salmon that return to spawn in the Tongass each year. It is critical to continue to support the call of Southeast Alaska tribes and the communities surrounding the Tongass to protect these lands for generations to come.
We have only a few more days left to voice our support for restoring Roadless Rules protections to this extraordinary place! Tell the U.S. Forest Service to permanently protect the Tongass National Forest from old growth logging.