The Department of Agriculture finalized protections for the Tongass National Forest in Alaska, the world’s largest intact temperate rainforest. The final rule, announced Jan. 25, repeals the Trump Administration’s 2020 Alaska Roadless Rule, restoring protections to 9.37 million acres of old-growth forest in southeastern Alaska.
“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,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “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.”
The statement from the Ag Department emphasizes carbon sequestration — equivalent to more than 10% of U.S. annual greenhouse gas emissions — and “Tribal priorities” in land-management decisions. The new rule “follows months of engagement with Tribes, rural communities, and partners.”
Repealing the Trump administration’s 2020 Alaska Roadless Rule returns the inventoried roadless areas of the Tongass to management under the 2001 Roadless Rule, “which prohibits road construction, reconstruction, and timber harvest in inventoried roadless areas, with limited exceptions.”
FSEEE has long advocated for protecting the Tongass and applauds the reinstatement of roadless area protections.
