CLIMATE AID: THE VOICE OF THE FOREST

TO BE HELD IN PORTLAND, MAINE ON OCTOBER 15

The event will benefit the creative grassroots environmental movement to protect the ancient “Black Ram” forest in Montana’s Yaak Valley—birthplace of the Black Ram guitar—as well as all remaining mature and old-growth forests on U.S. public lands. The evening will advance the efforts to protect the Black Ram forest by designating the region as the nation’s first Climate Refuge.

PORTLAND — The inaugural Climate Aid: The Voice of the Forest debuts in Portland, Maine, on Sunday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. ET, at the Merrill Auditorium. Tickets will go on sale to the public on Monday, September 18 at 11 a.m. EST, via an in-person sale at the Merrill’s box office and online

at PortTIX.com.

The evening will feature music, poetry, art and advocacy—with a solo acoustic performance by GRAMMY® Award-nominated producer/ songwriter/performer Maggie Rogers on the Black Ram guitar, 2022 NPR Tiny Desk Contest winner Alisa Amador, Halcyon String Quartet, a reading by poet Beth Ann Fennelly, as well as appearances by environmental legends Bill McKibben, Terry Tempest Williams, and Rick Bass. Climate Aid: The Voice of the Forest is being hosted by two small but mighty grassroots organizations — the Maine-based Protect Ancient Forests and The Montana Project — who, along with the tireless Yaak Valley Forest Council, have been instrumental in halting the Black Ram timber sale in Montana’s Yaak Valley.

Like the mycelia in ancient forests, a complex network of collaboration and communication has developed between Maine and Montana. These organizations are now advocating for the Yaak’s inland rainforests to be designated as the nation’s first Climate Refuge—the cornerstone in a series of protected ancient forests called the "Curtain of Green," standing guard by storing vast amounts of carbon in long-term safekeeping.

“We’re grateful that Mainers heeded the call and have lifted their impassioned voices to make a tangible difference at this most critical moment for our planet. We are proud that Maine, with the support of Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, is spreading hope and leading the movement, beginning with Black Ram, to protect all our irreplaceable mature and old-growth forests on U.S. public land,” said Protect Ancient Forest co-founder Alyssa O’Brien.

One ancient tree in particular—storm-downed along the edge of a logging road to the proposed clearcutting at Black Ram—will be celebrated on stage on October 15. From that newly-fallen giant, activists removed a length and brought it to master luthier Kevin Kopp, who crafted a one-of-a-kind acoustic guitar with the tight-grained 315-year-old Engelmann spruce.

This energized environmental movement has been supported by leading Indigenous voices in both Maine and Montana. Francis Auld, a traditional advisor for the Montana band of the Kootenai, will share a song on stage at the Merrill Auditorium. The Climate Refuge in the Yaak Valley—the nation’s first—will be a treasure trove of biodiversity, Indigenous pathways, and headwaters for the Yaak valley: home to not only towering old-growth trees, but also boreal toads, lynx, long-toed salamanders, wolves and grizzly bears, in ancient green gardens of moss and rot and light and life. In addition to preserving biodiversity and storing vast tonnages of carbon in long-term safekeeping, the Refuge will become the first in a series of protected ancient forests.

“This place—Portland, Maine—and this evening, the inaugural Climate Aid: The Voice of the Forest—is the first major step in creating a ‘Curtain of Green,’” said Rick Bass. “Imagine a fringed, breathing necklace of green all along the northern tier of the U.S., and then the globe.”

Ticket prices range from $55 to $131 (price includes service fee) and will be available for purchase at the Merrill’s box office and online at PortTIX.com. For event updates, visit protectancientforests.org, montanaproject.org, and yaakvalley.org.