Stretching 500 miles along the southeast coast of Alaska, the Tongass National Forest lies at the heart of the world's largest remaining temperate rainforest. With its towering groves of ancient trees, the Tongass supports vibrant populations of eagles, grizzlies, wolves and salmon.

At the behest of the logging industry, the Forest Service has repeatedly tried to sacrifice this vast wilderness to clearcut logging. The Bush administration illegally exempted the forest from the landmark 2001 "roadless rule," which bans logging and road construction in the most pristine areas of our national forests. NRDC is currently fighting to overturn that exemption in court.

Meanwhile, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has publicly stated that he wants to move the federal timber sale program back out of the unspoiled reaches of the Tongass National Forest, as well as end the logging of old growth rainforest altogether.  NRDC will continue to provide the legal advocacy and public pressure needed to ensure the Obama Administration permanently protects our last great rainforest wildlands.