The leading forestry watchdog organization in the Pacific Northwest
Using citizen science, grassroots pressure and strategic litigation, the Legacy Forest Defense Coalition (LFDC) has saved thousands of acres of native forests since 2023.
WA State Lands Campaign
Each month, hundreds of acres of legacy forests are sold at auction by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources. If the logging continues, these forests will be gone in many parts of Western Washington within the next ten years.
We are holding the Washington State Department of Natural Resources accountable by leading the fight to save Western Washington's last legacy forests through precedent-setting lawsuits, comprehensive timber sale reconnaissance, effective community organizing, powerful tribal and county partnerships, and cutting edge research and GIS analysis.
Check out this coverage of our Washington work:
WHAT ARE LEGACY FORESTS?
Legacy forests are forests that retain significant biological, structural, and genetic legacies of the natural and old growth forests that once dominated the Pacific Northwest. These natural forests, which were often selectively logged prior to World War II, and allowed to grow back on their own, are the closest thing to old growth that remains in most lowland watersheds of Western Washington.
13.2 percent
of state forest lands in Western Washington are classified as legacy or old growth forests.
92,000 acres
of legacy forests are unprotected and at risk. This represents half of all state owned legacy forests in Western Washington.
20,800 acres
Of legacy forest are scheduled for commercial logging in the next five years (FY 2025-2030).*
* Based on LiDAR, DNR forest inventory data, LFDC proprietary modeling, and timber sale data from June 2024.
Southeast Alaska Campaign
Over the past 15 years, about 100,000 acres of the Tongass National Forest have been transferred out of federal ownership to the State of Alaska as trust lands or to Native Corporations as land settlements. These areas have experienced brutal old-growth logging, and further privatizations are the leading threat to old-growth forests in Southeast Alaska. Despite this, this issue has received very little attention from the national environmental community. We are working to fix that.
Working with regional partners, we are leading efforts to prevent further privatization of the Tongass National Forest, including campaigning against upcoming legislation that threatens to transfer 115,200 acres of the national forest to corporations. We are also diligently documenting old-growth forests that have already been transferred out of federal ownership and fundraising to protect non-federally owned old-growth forests in Southeast Alaska through our Ancient Forest Fund.
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Check out the film "Land Less"
WILD ALASKA AT RISK
The proposed landless legislation threatens to transfer 115,200 acres of public land in the Tongass National Forest to five new Native corporations, opening the door to large-scale old-growth logging in Southeast Alaska. The legislation threatens to dismantle longstanding protections, including those afforded by the 2001 Roadless Rule, and put ancient forests, intact watersheds, and public access at risk. We must sound the alarm before more of these irreplaceable public lands are lost to logging and privatization.
115,200 acres
of the Tongass National Forest would be transferred to corporations.
80,000 acres
of these lands are old growth forest according to the forest service
60,000 acres
of these lands are roadless areas protected by the 2001 roadless rule
TODAY'S
LEGACY FORESTS
