The draft Alaska Roadless Rule undermines collaboration and creates long-term uncertainty
The U.S. Forest Service today released a proposal that would eliminate conservation safeguards for 9.2 million acres of roadless public lands in Alaska.
The agency issued the proposed rule for the Tongass National Forest after the president instructed the Secretary of Agriculture to roll back an 18-year-old limitation on timber harvest and road building within certain backcountry areas of the iconic forest.
“For years, sportsmen and women have been calling for a lasting solution for Alaska roadless areas that would conserve valuable fish and wildlife habitat and provide certainty for local communities that depend on the balanced use of these public resources,” says Whit Fosburgh, president and CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “Yet because of direct intervention from the White House, we are facing conservation setbacks within the Tongass that will affect more than half of the world’s largest temperate rainforest.”
Roadless areas within the Tongass National Forest, which have long been managed under the direction of the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, provide vital habitat for salmon and Sitka blacktail deer. They also provide outstanding opportunities for hunting and fishing that support a strong tourism economy and are important for subsistence.
In January 2018, the state of Alaska petitioned the U.S. Department of Agriculture to allow for the development of a state-specific roadless rule. Many hunting and fishing groups and businesses demonstrated a willingness to collaborate and support such a rule if a durable, good-faith compromise could be reached. One such solution was within the range of proposed options recommended by the Citizens Advisory Committee chartered by Governor Walker and is the path supported by a strong majority of Alaskans.
Yet the possibility of a broadly supported, long-term solution that is good for Alaska was all but eliminated this past summer when the White House intervened after an off-the-record meeting with Governor Dunleavy, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Forest Service were directed to propose the most extreme option.
“If implemented, today’s proposal would lead only to more conflict over the future of these lands, harming local communities and everyone’s interests over the long haul,” says Fosburgh. “We encourage the administration to right this ship, and we ask for leadership from the Alaska congressional delegation to shape a long-lasting outcome for the Tongass that brings people together.”
Last fall, the TRCP asked sportsmen and women to urge the Forest Service to support safeguards for Alaska roadless areas. In March 2019, the TRCP also warned against weakening conservation in roadless areas in Utah.
I worked on a trail maintenance crew in the Tongas National Forrest In 1961. It’s unfortunate that nearly 60 years later we can’t decide what to do with this pristine piece of America
I am concerned based on the actions of this white house that there must be a financial interest for the President or an associate. It is a shame that i now feel this way but i just don’t trust any decisions originating from the White House.
Our World needs protected Wild Land and places that lets Nature be its Natural Balance and not be Commercialized in any way. I have enjoyed National Parks, National Forests and traveling all over the United States of America to see Our Country where it is simply Natural with out big buildings, theme parks or oil rigs to distort Nature and the wild animals that live there… The Protected Beauty and Vision is a part of Our Inheritance from Generations that appreciated Nature and wanted to preserve it for Generations to come…!
I worked in Tongass National Forest in 1984 installing fish ladders over barriers that prevented salmon upstream migration to suitable spawning habitat. This National Forest needs protection of it’s spawning habitats. The water quality issues are imperative there for the salmon populations. Permanent roads, even with BMP’s addressed, will not help maintain the salmon spawning habitats. I saw old logging roads create water quality issues. Hike in to fish like we did then. Local bush pilots were skilled and numerous to assist hunters and fishermen to a beginning point. Tongass is not referred to as “The Fish Forest” for nothing.
Sadly this is typical from the current administration in Washington. And all the more reason for a change. America deserves so much better, not worse.
Not sure what the change proposal actually is. Logging in itself can be a help to wildlife if done within reasonable constraints. Not all road building is bad. I, for one, see the middle ground. Let us find a solution without lawyers if possible. If we live in wood houses, use paper, and burn fossil fuel, we have to find the middle ground. Everyone has some negative impact on the environment. With that said, Trump is a loose canon! He has zero understanding of science, and the natural world around us.
I wish our government represented the people and not the money grabbers. Our national parks and Forest are the one thing we the people own not because we make money from them but they are our places to escape
This administration will not stop until the last tree is cut down and all the wildlife is gone. I wonder where they will spend their money when our planet is destroyed?
For crying out loud, Idiots are attacking Alaska from both sides! Pebble Mine from the north and the Tongass N.F. from the south. When will the money grubbers be satisfied to leave some of this wonderful planet alone? All those in Washington who support destroying these pristine lands need to know that we have the power of the ballot. Lets bring it together and remove them from the power they think they have.
leave the land etc alone… money driving policy again