Andrea Feniger, Sierra Club Alaska, andrea.feniger@sierraclub.org
Virginia Cramer, Sierra Club National, virginia.cramer@sierraclub.org
ANCHORAGE, AK -- The US Forest Service issued notice for a Final Record of Decision today eliminating the Roadless Rule in the Tongass National Forest. The decision opens vast swaths of irreplaceable old-growth temperate rainforest to clearcut logging, jeopardizing the subsistence culture of Indigenous communities, the forest’s role in fighting the climate crisis, and already imperiled wildlife.
In response, Sierra Club Alaska Chapter Director Andrea Feniger issued the following statement:
“Preserving the Tongass is a matter of survival. A standing healthy forest is absolutely essential to the subsistence survival of Indigenous peoples. It’s also essential for mitigating the climate crisis that threatens us all. We will continue to fight for the Tongass and those who depend on it. We will challenge the lifting of restrictions against logging in the forest's roadless areas at every turn.”
###
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.