A National Treasure
The Tongass National Forest is America's Rainforest.  Established by Teddy Roosevelt in 1907, the Tongass is not only America's largest national forest; it is the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world.  Stretching over 17 million acres from Ketchikan to Yakutat in southeast Alaska, it is the size of West Virginia.  This remote rainforest of ancient trees covers an island landscape marked by narrow inlets and glacier-carved fiords.  Its giant Sitka Spruce and other old growth trees are home to wolves, bears, salmon and Bald Eagles--species that have disappeared from many other parts of the country.  America's Tongass Rainforest is an incomparable wonder of nature that provides endless recreational opportunities.   

A Shameful Legacy
Despite the majesty of the Tongass, the U.S. Forest Service has allowed the timber industry to clear over 1 million acres of old-growth trees from the forest.  For over 50 years, American taxpayers have been paying the bill to build and maintain logging roads in the Tongass.  For example, the Forest Service spent nearly $48.5 million to subsidize logging operations in the Tongass and received a mere $500,000 in payments in 2005. Already, over 5,000 miles of roads crisscross the Tongass, and the Forest Service has plans to build over 1,000 additional miles of roads.  These clear cuts and timber roads don't just damage the Tongass National Forest; they damage the hunting, fishing, recreation, and tourism industries that are the foundation of Southeast Alaska's economy.

An Opportunity
It is simply irresponsible for the federal government to spend tens of millions of our tax dollars subsidizing the timber industry in Alaska.  If the President and Congress are serious about cutting government waste, the annual subsidy to prop up the timber industry and clear-cut the rainforest in Alaska is a good place to start. In 2006 and 2007, the U.S. House of Representatives approved amendments to the Interior-Environment Appropriations bills that would have ended taxpayer subsidies for new commercial logging roads in the Tongass. Unfortunately, this subsidy repeal has not been approved by the Senate and was left out of the final Omnibus appropriations bill.