The forests of the Emerald Edge sequester more than 300 million tons of carbon per year

Spanning Alaska, British Columbia, Washington state and Oregon—with over 100 million acres of lush forest, rivers, islands and mountain streams. It encompasses more than 100 million acres of coastal rainforest, thousands of rivers and salmon streams, 40,000 islands and 35,000 miles of coastline. The Emerald Edge sustains hundreds of communities and thousands of species of flora and fauna—including bears, salmon, wolves and whales—and thanks to its immense carbon-storage capacity, plays a critical role in regulating the global climate.

For millennia, Indigenous First Nations, Alaska Natives and coastal Tribes have called this region home, relying on the lands and waters for traditional practices, fishing and other cultural and economic uses. These original stewards’ cultures, languages and livelihoods were born from the landscape and to this day—and for generations to come—they maintain a vibrant and strong connection to the lands and waters.

Unsustainable natural resource use has been the default in many parts of the Emerald Edge, which has led to conflict between communities, environmental groups and extractive industries.