Biden reinstates restrictions on road-building and logging in Alaska’s Tongass

Breanne Deppisch

January 26, 10:03 AM January 26, 10:03 AM

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The U.S. Forest Service said that it is reinstating restrictions on road-building and logging in the Tongass National Forest in Alaska, an effort to settle a two-decade long dispute over America’s largest temperate rainforest after its Clinton-era protections were rolled back during the Trump administration.

Tongass is roughly the size of West Virginia, and has a unique ecosystem made up of rainforests, fjords, and coastal islands, as well as ancient, towering trees that store more than 8% of the carbon accumulated by the rest of the country. Environmentalists have sought the restrictions being reimposed, but high-profile Republicans have said that it would prevent the state from developing fishing, forestry, mining, and tourism.

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“As our nation’s largest national forest and the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world, the Tongass National Forest is key to conserving biodiversity and addressing the climate crisis,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement Wednesday.

“Restoring roadless protections listens to the voices of Tribal Nations and the people of Southeast Alaska while recognizing the importance of fishing and tourism to the region’s economy,” he added.

In addition to prohibiting road construction in much of the area, the Forest Service decision would restore protections enacted under the Clinton administration in 2001 that made it illegal for logging companies to remove timber in the roughly 9.3 million acre forest.

In 2021, President Joe Biden said he would begin exploring the restoration of federal protections to the area, paving the way for Wednesday’s decision.

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Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R), objected to the decision, writing on Twitter that it is a “huge loss” for Alaskans. “Alaskans deserve access to the resources that the Tongass provides — jobs, renewable energy resources, and tourism, not a government plan that treats human beings within a working forest like an invasive species,” he said.

The rule is slated to be published in the Federal Register Friday, and will take effect immediately, according to department officials.