Urge the Senate Energy Committee to Reject Language that Would Harm the Tongass National Forest

From the Alaska Wilderness League (http://www.alaskawild.org):

The Tongass National Forest is under attack by politicians in Washington DC. In order to delay important bear and salmon habitat protections, one US senator is bogging down a popular bill – a bill that would increase funding to fight wildfires – to stop a new management plan that protects clean water and phases out old-growth logging in the Tongass.

It’s the oldest trick in the political playbook. A politician wants to do something unpopular, so they hide it in a bill with broad public support. It is up to us to say that we’ve seen through it, and that we want stronger protections for the Tongass National Forest today.

Join us: Tell the energy committee to reject language that would harm the Tongass National Forest at http://act.alaskawild.org/sign/tongass_wildfire2016.

After extensive public feedback, the US Forest Service has released a draft management plan that transitions away from old-growth logging in the Tongass. Over the past few years, the Forest Service has listened to stakeholders throughout the region – including the timber industry – and has carefully crafted a way forward that protects salmon streams and bear habitat, while sustaining and growing the economy of southeast Alaska.

This proposed language to the wildfire bill would hijack this thoughtful public process and delay the transition away from old-growth logging. Time is of the essence; instead of continuing the harmful old-growth clear cuts of the past, we should be supporting sustainable industries and protecting this iconic national forest.

Tell the Senate Energy Committee that you support a transition away from old-growth logging. Tell them that you – like the more than 100,000 people who commented on the proposed plan – support efforts by the Forest Service to protect the Tongass National Forest for future generations.