Hunting News

Roadless Protections Restored for the Tongass National Forest 

U.S. Department of Agriculture announces repeal of 2020 exemption 

JUNEAU, AK – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today that it has restored the Roadless Rule in Southeast Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, repealing an unpopular 2020 exemption. This rulemaking prohibits road construction, reconstruction and timber harvest on over 9 million acres of inventoried roadless areas, with limited exceptions.  

“This decision has been a long time coming,” said Austin Williams, Alaska legal and policy director for Trout Unlimited. “It’s so great to see the Forest Service move beyond unsustainable and damaging clear cut logging of old-growth forest and chart a path forward for the Tongass that recognizes roadless areas are critical to our local communities and economies, and to helping fight the effects of climate change.”  

Today’s announcement is part of the USDA’s Southeast Alaska Sustainability Strategy, which it announced in July of 2021. In addition to reinstating the Roadless Rule, this new strategy ended large-scale logging of old-growth forest and refocused management toward in restoration, recreation and resiliency; recommitted the Forest Service to meaningful consultation with local Tribes, and invested $25 million in diversifying the regional economy. This strategy is designed to support local economies fueled by an intact and healthy forest, where tourism and fishing make up one in four jobs.  

The reinstatement of the Roadless Rule on the Tongass supports the USDA’s efforts to address climate change. The Tongass is part of North America’s largest temperate rainforests, storing more carbon than any other national forest in the country and slowing the impact of climate change. The amount of carbon stored in trees of the Tongass National Forest is equal to the yearly CO2 emissions of over 421 million vehicles. Roadless protections don’t just provide vast local benefits, they are also globally significant.  

“The Tongass’ wild and scenic landscapes are timeless, but its management practices were stuck in the past for far too long,” said Chris Wood, president and CEO of Trout Unlimited. “Today’s news brings hope for the future. A future where the national forest that produces more salmon than all others combined is conserved for the incredibly valuable and lasting resource that it is, and a carbon sink that slows the effects of climate change is left standing.”  

Trout Unlimited, the nation’s oldest and largest coldwater fisheries conservation organization, is dedicated to caring for and recovering America’s rivers and streams, so our children can experience the joy of wild and native trout and salmon. Across the country, TU brings to bear local, regional, and national grassroots organizing, durable partnerships, science-backed policy muscle, and legal firepower on behalf of trout and salmon fisheries, healthy waters and vibrant communities.  In Alaska, we work with sportsmen and women to ensure the state’s trout and salmon resources remain healthy far into the future through our local chapters and offices in Anchorage and Juneau.  

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