Steep, glacier-carved mountains, fjords, and narrow valleys dominate the dramatic coastline of Southeast Alaska. Receiving as much as 200 inches of rain per year, this region is part of North America’s coastal temperate rain forest. The terrain's ability to retain soil and nutrients and to process large quantities of rainwater determines plant growth, and as a result two-thirds of the region consists merely of rock, ice or non-forest vegetation. The old growth forest that comprises the remaining one-third is a naturally fragmented habitat, hugging the lower-elevation coastlines where soils are fertile and well drained.  Big tree, cathedral-like stands of trees are even more rare, covering just 4% of the land base.

These forests are among the most biologically productive places on earth. Cedar, hemlock, and spruce trees reach up to 12 feet in diameter and anchor a diverse understory that supports an ecological web of species. The intimate relationship between animals and habitat is highlighted by recent studies of Sitka black-tailed deer, which depend upon the multi-layered forest canopy to shelter their ground-level food supply from snowfall and are, in turn, an important part of Southeast Alaska’s $32 million annual subsistence harvest.

Though these relatively rare stands of giant old growth represent some of the most valuable wildlife and fish habitat, it is also most highly sought after by the timber industry.  Clearcutting these key forest lands severely impacts fish and wildlife resources, which in turn damages traditional hunting and gathering, recreation, tourism, and fishing.