Stop Old-Growth Clear-Cutting in the Tongass National Forest!
- by: Earthjustice
- recipient: U.S. Department of the Agriculture and U.S.Forest Service
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.
An ancient, carbon-rich forest, the Tongass helps to moderate global 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.
What's more, the Tongass is stronghold for all five species of Pacific salmon and supports a thriving fishing industry as well as a booming tourism industry, and 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 today to protect the Tongass National Forest and reject old-growth logging.
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.
An ancient, carbon-rich forest, the Tongass helps to moderate global 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.
What's more, the Tongass is stronghold for all five species of Pacific salmon and supports a thriving fishing industry as well as a booming tourism industry, and 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 today to protect the Tongass National Forest and reject old-growth logging.
Please protect the Tongass National Forest and reject decades of controversial old-growth logging
Dear U.S. Department of the Agriculture and U.S.Forest Service,
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.
[Your comment will be added here]
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.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Sign PetitionSign PetitionDear U.S. Department of the Agriculture and U.S.Forest Service,
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.
[Your comment will be added here]
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.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
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