The Trump administration's proposal to rescind logging protections threatens nearly one-third of national forests, including the historic Tongass National Forest in Alaska, the largest remaining temperate old growth rainforest in the world. These forests are not only iconic landscapes that hold intrinsic ecological and cultural value, but they are also vital in the fight against climate change as they store significant amounts of carbon.

Opening these pristine forests to logging would have devastating consequences. Roads built for logging would fragment habitats, disrupting the homes of countless species and threatening biodiversity. Crucially, it would endanger some of the most precious old growth trees, which play a key role in absorbing carbon dioxide, a primary greenhouse gas contributing to climate change.

[According to the USDA Forest Service](https://www.fs.usda.gov/ the Tongass alone stores about 8 percent of the carbon across the entire national forest system. Making a decision that risks this carbon sink would exacerbate the climate crisis, hindering our collective efforts to address and mitigate its impacts.

Moreover, these forests are crucial to Indigenous communities who rely on them for traditional practices and livelihoods. Disrupting these lands would not only damage their environment but also their way of life.

Instead of building roads and inviting commercial logging, the focus should be on preserving these national treasures for future generations while investing in sustainable forest management practices that provide economic benefits without compromising ecological integrity.

Congress must act decisively to maintain the current protections for national forests, ensuring they remain untouched by logging and development. By doing so, they can safeguard biodiversity, uphold commitments to Indigenous communities, and contribute positively to climate change mitigation efforts.

I urge you to sign this petition to protect America's national forests from the threat of logging and preserve these invaluable ecological sanctuaries for generations to come.