
Tongass National Forest
In Alaska’s southeast panhandle, the Tongass National Forest is made up of soaring spruce, hemlock and cedar forests that cover hundreds of miles of islands and coastal areas.
The Tongass National Forest is the largest remaining temperate rainforest in the world. After decades of large-scale timber exploitation, much of the forest is scarred and damaged by clear-cutting.
Why the Tongass National Forest
Despite environmental damage caused by decades of large-scale commercial logging, Tongass National Forest is capable of supporting local communities with a stable, sustainable economy based on forest restoration, recreation, tourism and commercial fishing. By protecting this forest from saws and roads, The Wilderness Society helps protect ancient trees and one of the world’s best remaining wild salmon fisheries.
Work we are doing
The Wilderness Society helps transition the Tongass forest from old-growth harvest that destroys habitat and degrades water supplies to more sustainable second-growth harvest. We also work with communities to better realize other valuable resources in the area, including commercial fishing and recreation.
Our Partners
The Wilderness Society works with a number of local, regional and national conservation groups to help protect the Tongass National Forest.
Why Wilderness
Wilderness is a precious resource with many human, natural and economic benefits that we need to protect.
Notes from the Field
Learn more about issues affecting the places we work to protect with our Notes from the Field.
mywilderness
Hear artists, activists and adventurers share what the ownership and legacy of these American wildlands means to them.
- Tuesday, June 18, 2013
If the Senate is any indication, your support of wilderness bills may meet success this year.
- Saturday, June 15, 2013
Whether you intend to visit a major city, or you live in one and are looking for a quick weekend trip, a visit to Wilderness is often nearby.
- Friday, June 14, 2013
Just as you rely on wild places to rejuvenate and restore you, those places rely on you to keep them in good condition.
- Friday, June 14, 2013
A final plan for the SunZia transmission project raises serious concerns about impacts to Arizona’s sensitive San Pedro Valley.
- Friday, June 7, 2013
The memorandum specifically calls on federal agencies to collaborate on identifying suitable places on public lands that avoid sensitive na
- Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Yet, here we are, with people and the government unable to stop furloughs, job losses, and lower revenue to keep the government functioning. Our public lands have certainly not been spared from this indiscriminate budget ax.
- Wednesday, June 19, 2013
It was at the Three Forks Natural Area in Snoqualmie, WA where Sen. Patty Murray and Rep.
- Tuesday, June 18, 2013Like a dutiful sentinel, the lookout quietly watches over the wild, waiting for visitors to make their way through beautiful alpine meadows to the summit of Green Mountain.
- Tuesday, April 2, 2013
But Alaska’s Sen. Lisa Murkowski refused to accept that decision. She and residents of the tiny community of King Cove are fighting to have the decision overturned.
A factsheet about the Green Mountain Lookout.
A support letter for H.R. 908/S. 404, the Green Mountain Lookout Heritage Protection Act, introduced in February by Reps. DelBene and Larsen and Sens. Murray and Cantwell.
Dear Representative Gosar:
On behalf of the National Association of Counties (NACo), I am writing to express our support of the Public Lands Renewable Energy Development Act (H.R. 596). This landmark legislation would extend royalties and lease income from solar and wind projects developed on Federal lands to home states and counties.
- Wednesday, June 19, 2013The Wilderness Society tonight applauded the passage of five wilderness and conservation bills in the U.S. Senate. We are hopeful that the passage is a sign of things to come in the House, as the previous Congress – the 112th – was the first since 1966 to not designate a single new acre of wilderness.The wilderness and conservation bills that passed include:
- Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Contacts:
Alan Rowsome, (202)285-8134, alan_rowsome@tws.org
Emily Diamond-Falk, (202) 841-8605, emily_diamond-falk@tws.org
WASHINGTON (June 18, 2013) – The Wilderness Society today took a position on several bills being marked-up in the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
- Friday, June 14, 2013
A final plan for the SunZia Southwest transmission project was released today by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) identifying the agency’s preferred routes in Arizona and New Mexico.









