Wilderness Blog

RSS Feed

Latest Posts tagged with "Tongass"

Sealaska Bill: A Step Backward for Southeast Alaska

July 14, 2011 By Tim Woody

Tongass old growth forest

Credit: Sitka Conservation Society

We were sitting at the kitchen table of a B&B on Prince of Wales Island a few years ago when the owner – a former logger – looked me straight in the eye and asked about an idea that could improve his future: “Do you think other people want to do this?” Read more

Alaska’s Ancient Rainforest: Why restoring the Tongass is good for everyone

January 26, 2011 By Rebecca Bright

Tongass National Forest, Alaska. Photo by John Schoen.

The Southeastern panhandle of Alaska is a uniquely remote, stunning place — a network of more than 1,000 islands, jagged coastlines, and dense, mist-shrouded forests that have been home to thriving human, animal, and plant communities for millennia. Nearly 80% of this wild region, 16.8 million acres, is the Tongass National Forest, the largest primarily intact temperate rainforest in the world. Region:  Alaska Read more

Tongass National Forest: Better days ahead for Alaska’s ancient rainforest?

June 4, 2010 By Karen Hardigg

Tongass National Forest in southeast Alaska stands ancient and giant. Encompassing 17 million acres that stretch across thousands of islands and cliffs, including rivers surging with salmon, the Tongass is the nation’s largest national forest and the world’s largest remaining temperate rainforest. Its lands provide habitat to hundreds of species, including brown bears, whales, wolves, and bald eagles. And for the people of southeast Alaska, the Tongass provides food, recreation opportunities, and the foundation that keeps cultural richness alive. Read more

America’s Rainforest Under Threat: How Alaska’s Tongass National Forest needs your help

March 5, 2010 By Laura Bailey

Tongass National Forest. Photo by Henry Hartley. Wikimedia Commons.

Centuries before chainsaws were invented and logging corporations founded, the towering trees of Alaska’s Tongass National Forest were growing. Trees that soar to the sky today were already shooting into adolescence when Columbus sailed the seas. The gentle giants amaze visitors with their arresting size — some trunks are as big as dining room tables — but these rare trees are a disappearing breed. Read more

Lungs of the Earth: The Top 10 carbon storing national forests in America

March 4, 2010 By Mike Anderson, J.D.

One of America's Top 10 National Forest, the Siskiyou National Forest in Oregon. Courtesy KSWild.

Ever hear the old adage that trees are the “lungs of the earth?” It creates an awesome visual and brings a human element to the towering giants that fill our forests. But did you know that forests in the Pacific Northwest and Southeast Alaska are among the Earth’s strongest “lungs?” Read more

How our science is helping save the Tongass National Forest

July 28, 2009 By Anne Gore

Etolin Island in Alaska. Courtesy USGS.

Yesterday, The Wilderness Society celebrated a small but meaningful victory in our ongoing efforts to protect America’s largest national forest — the Tongass National Forest. Read more