A federal judge has delivered a major victory for one of the most extraordinary places on earth, dismissing a lawsuit from timber industry groups that sought to force large-scale old-growth logging in the Tongass National Forest in Alaska. The Tongass is the largest national forest in the United States and the largest remaining temperate rainforest anywhere in the world, spanning 17 million acres of ancient trees, wild salmon rivers, and rich habitat for bald eagles, brown bears, Steller’s sea lions, mountain goats, and dozens of other species found nowhere else. The judge dismissed the case with prejudice, a legal term meaning the same parties can never bring the same lawsuit against the same defendants again, and ruled that federal law does not require the Forest Service to guarantee a specific volume of old-growth timber sales to meet market demand. Conservationists and tribal communities called it a decisive and long-awaited victory for the forest.
The Tongass is home to ancient Sitka spruce, cedar, and hemlock trees that have stood for centuries and store vast amounts of carbon, supporting one of the most biologically rich ecosystems in all of North America. Environmental groups, tribal communities, fishing organizations, and tourism operators had all joined the side of the defense, arguing that the old-growth stands are irreplaceable and that their destruction would harm the wildlife and communities that depend on them for generations to come. The attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity said the ruling sends a clear message that the logging industry’s attempt to force large-scale clearing had no legal basis, and that the court was right to reject it entirely. Advocates say the decision protects not just ancient trees but the salmon runs, coastal communities, and extraordinary wildlife that have made the Tongass one of America’s most treasured wild places.
