Friend -- 34 days. That's all the time we've got left to stop the Trump Administration from letting timber companies clearcut thousands of acres of Alaska's 17-million-acre Tongass National Forest, reducing 800-year-old trees to stumps. Trump officials just signed an agreement that could open the Tongass' pristine old-growth forests to splitters and stump grinders. And instead of trying to protect Alaska's wild places, Senator Lisa Murkowski and the Alaska delegation endorsed the deal. The Sierra Club has a plan: mobilize public comments in opposition to the agreement, push for citizens' hearings, haul the Trump administration back into court, and stop Sen. Murkowski and Rep. Young's plans in Congress -- where they're trying to slide through secretive riders that strip its protections. But with just 34 days until the comment period is up on October 15, the clock is ticking. Please, help us save the Tongass with your emergency monthly gift of $5 or more. Click here to rush your emergency monthly gift of $5 or more now. Help us save some of the world's largest remaining temperate rainforest from Big Timber before the Tongass is gone forever. We'll also send you our Sierra Club insulated cooler tote -- free. The Trump administration's sinister, short-sighted end-run around the Roadless Rule would be a devastating setback. America's largest national forest, Tongass' 17 million acres are home to 800-year-old trees and an astonishing breadth of wildlife: brown bears, bald eagles, humpback whales and sea lions. And its devastation would be dire news for the fight against climate change: The Tongass stores more than 10% of the carbon stored by all national forests combined. What's more, saving the Tongass isn't solely an environmental issue. Thanks to salmon runs, fisheries, tourism and recreation, the forest supports $2 billion in revenue and attracts more than one million visitors each year. |