Loggers Could Soon Slice Through One of the Most Important Forests in the US

10/1/2020

Last week, the Forest Service announced in its Final Environmental Impact Statement that it planned to axe the Roadless Rule in Southeast Alaska’s Tongass National Forest. The agency’s decision comes after President Trump, with the encouragement of Alaska’s governor and Congressional delegation, asked USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue to exempt the Tongass from the Rule in August of 2019. The reason, Trump made clear, is to lift logging restrictions in the 25,560 square mile national forest—America’s largest. - Popular Science

5 Comments

CAROLINA MICHEL

10/2/2020 02:41:44 pm

I hope that the Government allows the 11 tribes to have a say and manage the forests. Native communities that depend on this forest have also accumulated practical traditional knowledge that makes them qualified to manage it. Here's an article on HCN https://www.hcn.org/issues/52.10/indigenous-affairs-forests-eleven-alaska-native-tribes-offer-new-way-forward-on-managing-the-tongass

Prof Jeff

10/3/2020 01:45:22 pm

Good link. Thank you.

Things are not always simple. That "practical knowledge" didn't keep the Navajo from approving the Black Mesa coal mine and working in it and then trying in vain to keep the coal-burning Navajo Generating Station from closing in November of 2019. That plant was responsible for a lot of pollution over the SW.

"It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it." - Upton Sinclair

Dania Amaya Brown

10/4/2020 01:49:32 pm

What I gained from this article is how important the Tongass Old Growth Forrest is and how it can help our major climate change problem. I think that the Trump Administration will cause further damage trying to gain temporary profit from the timber and road projects, while the constant income of hunting and fishing fees can become indefinite, the "96 percent of commenters testified they wanted to keep the Roadless Rule in place" should be listened to, that is way more than half of the publics opinion. This is related to our class module in regards to the preservation of natural gems of earth that can help prevent biological disasters in the long run.

Thomas Malley link

10/4/2020 02:30:14 pm

It's very sad to see some of the people of Alaska and Trump's administration wanting to cut through the amazing Tongass National Forest just for them to make a profit. The main reason why Alaskan residents want to keep the Roadless Rule in place because not only does it effect wildlife, the Tongass National Forest is the world's biggest rain forest and helps offset climate change. I'm with the 96% who voted to keep the Roadless Rule in place because it would be terrible for this world and nature if the forest got cut down.

Prof Jeff

10/6/2020 05:53:07 pm

Eleven indigenous tribes would like to have some say in this Those local tribes probably have at least as much invested as a logging company which will come in, take the trees, then leave. Thanks for the link, Dr. Michel.

https://www.hcn.org/issues/52.10/indigenous-affairs-forests-eleven-alaska-native-tribes-offer-new-way-forward-on-managing-the-tongass

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Loggers Could Soon Slice Through One of the Most Important Forests in the US

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