Tongass National Forest

Tongass National Forest spans much of Southeast Alaska’s Alexander Archipelago and, at 16.7 million acres, is the largest national forest in the United States. Formed through presidential proclamations between 1902 and 1925, it protects a vast temperate rain forest of fjords, glaciers, and coastal mountains that supports rare and endangered species. Its history has also been shaped by major disputes over Indigenous land rights, federal ownership, logging, roads, and habitat protection. Court rulings, federal policy shifts, and the 1990 Tongass Timber Reform Act helped curb large-scale old-growth harvesting, and by 2021 policy turned toward restoration, recreation, and other non-commercial uses.