September 28, 2020 — A final environmental impact statement released Friday, Sept. 25, indicates the Forest Service plans to remove Roadless Rule protections from Alaska’s Tongass National Forest.
If finalized, the rule change would repeal conservation measures for more than 9 million acres of the forest, making protected lands available for expanded industrial clear-cut logging of old growth trees and construction of expensive and highly subsidized logging roads.
The Tongass produces more salmon than all other national forests combined. As the largest national forest in the country at nearly 27,000 square miles, it covers most of Southeast Alaska. The intact forest supports robust fishery and tourism sectors that account for more than 26 percent of jobs in the region.