The Tongass — America’s largest and wildest national forest — is filled with centuries-old towering trees, ice fields and glaciers, and rivers and fjords flowing among thousands of islands.
Like most wild places in America, though, the Tongass is not without its scars. Decades after timber companies razed the forest’s biggest, oldest trees, parts of it are still covered in small, uniform evergreens, mere remnants of their majestic ancestors.
“It’s sobering,” says Waldo. “Seeing big expanses of clear-cuts makes it hard to feel celebratory about what we’ve done. You see what has been lost, and you realize the importance of protecting the remaining areas.”
But Waldo’s work, is worth celebrating.