We urgently need your help to protect Alaska's Tongass National Forest, which is now imperiled by timber industry allies in the Bush administration. The Timber Products Company, which makes various types of plywood, veneer and laminate products, is currently negotiating with government officials in Alaska to re-open a veneer mill in Ketchikan that would jeopardize wild and roadless areas in the Tongass by increasing demand for ancient trees. The Forest Service is exploiting the possible re-opening of the mill as an excuse to undermine the "roadless rule" that protects our wild national forests -- and to exempt the Tongass from the rule altogether. Please go to http://www.savebiogems.org/tongass/takeaction.asp?step=2&item=10105 and send a message urging the president and CEO of the Timber Products Company to withdraw immediately from negotiations to re-open the mill. The Tongass National Forest's 17 million acres of glacial fjords, volcanic mountains, misty rainforests, giant conifers and luxurious tundra contain rich salmon spawning grounds and prime grizzly bear and wolf habitat. They also boast the world's densest population of bald eagles. In 2002, the U.S. Forest Service spent $34 million preparing logging projects and building logging roads in the Tongass -- it makes no sense to increase these taxpayer subsidies to industry by promoting even more logging. But the potential re-opening of the Ketchikan mill would help the Forest Service justify any decision to exempt the Tongass from protection and clear the way for chainsaws. Please defend the Tongass by going to http://www.savebiogems.org/tongass/takeaction.asp?step=2&item=10105 right now and telling the president of the Timber Products Company to withdraw from negotiations to re-open the Ketchikan veneer mill. Tell him that if he continues to endanger America's greatest temperate rainforest, you will work with NRDC to lodge protests with the retail stores that sell his company's products. Thank you. Sincerely, John H. Adams President Natural Resources Defense Council -- Think, talk, feel. And life will be different. --

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