Trees older than America: a primeval Alaskan forest is at risk in the Trump era

Tongass is the world's largest intact temperate rainforest, with trees more than 1,000 years old. But a pro-logging effort could uproot them

At south-east Alaska's last industrial-scale sawmill, wheel loaders stack debarked logs two storeys high on the frozen ground. A bumper sticker on a battered Ford in the parking lot reads "Cut Kill Dig Drill", a mantra that many in the 49th state appreciate repeating.

Viking Lumber Company employs 34 people and sustains itself primarily on old-growth trees harvested from the Tongass, the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world. Many of them have been around longer than the United States - some for 1,000 years.