Not Caving In

The more than 1,000 mist-shrouded miles of forest that hug the Pacific from Ketchikan to Kodiak Island in Alaska include the greatest expanse of ancient rainforest in the United States. The region’s two national forests, Tongass and Chugach, provide habitat for wolves, bears, and other wildlife that have largely disappeared from the rest of the country, and their watersheds nurture salmon and steelhead trout.

But Alaska’s rainforest is at increasing risk from the pressures of clearcut logging. Recent decisions by the Bush administration to protect no new wilderness in the Tongass and to restrict citizen involvement in logging proposals on national forests (see "Ways & Means,") have made clear that Alaska’s rainforest will survive only with committed and compelling grassroots support. The Alaska Rainforest Conservation Act would permanently safeguard remaining wildlands of the Tongass and Chugach, while guaranteeing a future for fishing, hunting, recreation, and traditional subsistence activities in the forests.

Take Action Please call or write your representative, urging support of the Alaska Rainforest Conservation Act. For more information, go to www.sierraclub.org/wildlands/tongass, or contact Sara Callaghan Chapell, Sierra Club Alaska Representative, 201 Barrow St., Suite 101, Anchorage, AK 99501; phone (907) 276-4088.

Explore Want to journey toward the center of the earth? Caving is not for the faint of heart, or for the untrained. Start by contacting the National Speleological Society (www.caves.org), where you can learn about cave study, conservation, and exploration. If you’d like a taste of what lurks beneath Tongass National Forest, the Thorne Bay Ranger District provides two access trails, one of which leads you 150 feet into El Capitan Cave. Check out www.fs.fed.us/r10/tongass for more information. There are also ways to enjoy southeast Alaska without a headlamp and harness. Join a Sierra Club outing, for example, and you can explore the Tongass by boat.