The ancient spruce trees of the Tongass National Forest are columns that support a forest cathedral. Without these 500-year-old giants, much of the life below them would collapse. Soaring over 200 feet high, their broad, moss-draped limbs furnish nests for birds. In the winter, their canopy acts like a warm coat for the wildlife on the forest floor, blocking harsh snows and preserving bushes that sustain wildlife through the coldest months.

Although the 2001 Roadless Rule halted logging and road construction in wild national forests, the Bush administration later issued an exemption for the Tongass, stripping America's rainforest of vital safeguards and opening the way for more clearcutting and destructive road-building.

Already, nearly 6,000 miles of logging roads cut through the Tongass. And an additional 2.3 million acres of pristine forestland are in danger of being opened to clearcutting and roadbuilding -- threatening many of the undisturbed old-growth stands that form the wild heart of the Tongass. Without immediate action by the Obama administration, logging could start as early as this spring -- and in many of America's other roadless areas soon thereafter.

Tell President Obama to quickly reverse the Bush administration’s assault on our forests.

Photo credits: Stikine River, © Don Pitcher, Alaska Stock. Grizzly bear, © Garth Lenz.