On our continent’s shimmering western edge lies a mist-shrouded place of emerald islands, towering, ancient spruce, rugged mountains and fast-running rivers bursting with fish. It is our Tongass National Forest—America’s rainforest—wild, rare, thriving. This is a land of huge bears grown fat on salmon, eagles soaring the endless skies, and 500-year-old trees standing silent sentry over a rich and verdant world. It is a rare place where people can still travel over timeless glaciers, fish in pristine streams, or find solace at a remote cabin, immersed in the breathtaking beauty of wild Alaska.

Our Tongass remains an ecological wonder, a natural paradise of old-growth trees that predate Columbus’s arrival in the New World more than 500 years ago. It is one of the few places left on our planet that still supports an intact web of life and a wondrous balance between land, water, animal, and human. It is our National Forest System’s crown jewel and, at 17 million acres, our largest national forest.

Though our Tongass has been carelessly clear-cut in the past and damage has been done to essential habitat, there is much we can do to protect its last remaining old growth and restore critical fish and wildlife habitat. If we hope to pass this unique place on to future generations, resource extraction from the forest must be designed to prioritize protection of the region’s fragile ecosystem. Our Tongass is one of the last coastal temperate rainforests left on our changing planet – we must protect it.