Roadless Areas in the Tongass
Alaska’s Tongass National Forest is one of the rarest ecosystems in the world. At nearly 17 million acres of mostly old-growth forest, it’s also America’s largest national forest and a critical carbon sink in the global fight against climate change.
The Biden Administration’s Southeast Alaska Sustainable Strategy will re-instate previous Roadless Rule protections and add additional safeguards to the Tongass, including $25 million in federal spending on local sustainable development and an end to large-scale logging of old-growth timber across the forest’s entire 16 million acres.
It’s up to us to see this across the finish line and ensure our roadless forests are once again protected for years to come. Tell the US Forest Service that you support President Biden’s Southeast Alaska Sustainable Strategy to restore roadless rule protections on the Tongass, end large-scale old-growth logging in the forest, and invest in Tribal priorities and community-led partnerships in Southeast Alaska.
Conserving old-growth forests in the Tongass and similar carbon-rich mature and old-growth forests in Roadless protected areas across Washington state is one of the single biggest and boldest steps the Administration can take to address the climate change and biodiversity crises.
The Tongass is our backyard at just 500 miles from Washington. We share business, economic, and cultural connections. While Washington Wild has taken bold action to protect wilderness and slow climate change, the fight does not end at our borders. We’ve been standing up for the Tongass since 2019 because it’s public land entrusted to all of us. View a list of over 600 Washington State stakeholders who formally support Roadless Area protections at the button below.
Washington Wild’s Leadership
Washington Wild has led local efforts on Roadless protections. Check out our recent blog updates to learn more about our role in ensuring ongoing Roadless Area protections.
Defending the Roadless Rule in 2026
The Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2001 protects nearly 60 million acres of national forest across the nation, including 2 million acres of wild forests in Washington State. Unfortunately, the […]
The Draw of Washington’s Wild Places for Tiffanie Yang
We spoke with Tiffanie, a landscape and outdoor adventure photographer based in Seattle, about her love of Washington’s wilderness areas and why protecting these spaces are so important to her. […]
URGENT: Speak up NOW for your national forests!
Two million acres of wild forests in Washington State are under attack, and the comment submission period is only open for 30 days and closes on September 21. The proposed rollback of […]
Recent Local Reporting
We’re not the only ones who know that Roadless protections in the Tongass impact us all locally. Check out recent reporting on this issue at the links below.
1/11/22 Seattle Times (LTE), Roadless rule: Trees are Priceless
1/3/22 Spokesman-Review (LTE), Courage to Protect Lands
12/30/21 Seattle Times, This tree has stood here for 500 years. Will it be sold for $17,500?
12/26/21 Spokesman-Review (Op-Ed), Bruce McGlen: Are Roadless Areas worth Protecting?
12/14/21 Yakima Herald (Letter), “Whether it’s Alaska or here, roadless protection is critical“
12/14/21 Yakima Herald (Letter), “Soapbox was a good reminder of the importance of involvement”
12/11/21 Yakima Herald (Op-Ed), “Saturday Soapbox: Local support is strong for roadless forest protections“
12/1/21 The Seattle Times (Letter), “Protect Tongass forest: Impact on Washington wine”
11/19/21 Washington Wild Press Release
11/18/21 The Seattle Times, “Biden officials to propose road ban on more than half of Alaska’s Tongass National Forest“
07/02/21 The Seattle Times (Letter), “Tongass rainforest: Protect our forests too“
07/02/21 The Seattle Times (Letter), “Tongass rainforest: Broken Connection“
06/27/21 The Seattle Times (Op-Ed), “Name the Tongass rainforest a Carbon Forest Reserve to save it“
02/18/21 The Seattle Times, “Biden must quickly reinstate protections for America’s salmon forest“
11/03/20, The Seattle Times, “Save the Tongass National Forest from Logging Expansion“
10/28/20 The Seattle Times, “Trump to strip protections from Tongass National Forest, one of the biggest intact temperate rainforests”
12/17/19 The Everett Herald, “Alaska’s Tongass National Forest”
12/13/19 The Seattle Times (Letter), “National forests: Places of healing”
12/11/19 The Seattle Times (Letter), “Rainforest protection begins here in our region”
12/11/19 The Seattle Times (Letter), “The true value of our national forests”
12/8/19 The Spokesman-Review (Letter), “Continue roadless area protection”
12/8/19 The Everett Herald (Op-Ed), “Commentary: Northwest must speak for trees, salmon in Alaska”
12/6/19 The Seattle Times (Op-Ed), “Save the rare wild beauty of the Tongass National Forest from renewed logging”
12/1/19 The Spokesman-Review (Op-Ed), “Paul Fish: Keep backcountry roadless area protections throughout the West”
10/15/19 KUOW, “Trump Administration Moves to Expand Logging in Nation’s Largest National Forest“
09/06/19 The Seattle Times (Op-Ed), “Roadless rule: Protect Roadless Areas“
08/29/19 The Seattle Times (Op-Ed), “Stop the assault on the Tongass forest“
08/27/19 The Seattle Times, “Trump pushes to allow new logging in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest”
