Latest news with #RoadlessRule
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why there won't be significant logging in the Tongass
The setting sun casts pink hues in the Craig District of the Tongass National Forest on June 15, 2020. (Photo by Amy Li/U.S. Forest Service) Industrial-scale logging in the Tongass National Forest was due to monopolies created by the federal government and taxpayer subsidies. Two proposed pulp mills were granted 50-year logging contracts in territorial days: Ketchikan Pulp Company in Ketchikan was awarded 8.25 billion board feet in 1951 and Alaska Pulp Company in Sitka 4.975 billion board feet in 1956. Wrangell Lumber Company also received a 50-year contract that allowed them to harvest 60 million board feet of timber annually from the early 1960s until 1990. The sawmill minimally processed the trees into what are known as 'cants' and shipped them overseas. The 1980 Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act exempted the Tongass from complying with the National Forest Management Act of 1976, which led to very low stumpage fees, or the cost timber harvesters had to pay the federal government. The U.S. Forest Service had to spend an enormous amount of staff time surveying timber tracts and building roads in remote areas. A study by the Southeast Conservation Council calculated the federal government spent $386 million for preparation and sale of Tongass timber while collecting only $32 million in stumpage fees from 1982 to 1988. While the heyday of the timber industry supported about 4,000 jobs, many were nonresidents or recent arrivals who left when the pulp mills closed. Most of my former colleagues at the Sitka mill went 'back home' to Washington when the mill ceased operation. The pulp mills closed primarily because of tree farms in warmer climates such as South Africa, where forests grow much faster than the Tongass. Many fruit and vegetable farms in the southern U.S. converted to tree farms. The 2016 Tongass Land and Resource Management Plan created a 16-year transition period from harvest of old growth trees to second-growth timber. The first 10 years would allow the annual cutting of 34 million board feet of old growth and 12 million board feet of second growth before shifting to 5 million board feet of old growth and 41 million board feet of second-growth trees. This plan was upset by the 2001 'Roadless Rule,' which set aside 58.5 million acres of national forests, including 9.2 million acres in the Tongass. The national rule forbade 'road construction, road reconstruction and timber harvesting' in the set-aside acreage. The first Trump administration ended the Roadless Rule, but the Biden administration reinstated it. Now President Trump again wants to strike it down. Second-growth forests require massive thinning operations in remote locations and very little thinning has been accomplished in the old clearcuts. The only trees with market value are old growth, which takes a century to reach maturity in the Tongass. So, are there enough standing old-growth trees to support a vibrant timber industry in the Tongass? It depends upon who you ask. As a young journalist in Ketchikan, I interviewed a couple of men who took part in the initial surveys of Tongass timber that helped support the 50-year contracts. They said the surveys were accomplished by flyovers with a very few boots on the ground, and grossly overestimated the volume of harvestable timber. In a recent interview by the Juneau Empire, Joel Jackson, president of the Organized Village of Kake, pointed out that 'nobody touched' numerous past timber sales on Kupreanof and Kuiu islands, as the cost of accessing the trees and getting them to market overwhelmed the market value. If the 'DOGE' cuts to the U.S. Forest Service are left in place, the foresters would be hard-pressed to do the groundwork necessary to make sales. Those looking to resurrect industrial-scale logging in the Tongass are chasing an old dream that fails to recognize the current importance of tourism, which relies upon healthy forests and wildlife. The salmon fishermen of the Tongass need healthy streams, not clearcuts. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The Tongass National Forest is a national treasure worth more than timber
Snow-capped mountains are reflected in the water on May 9, 2022, in the Juneau District of the Tongass National Forest. (Photo by Maya Leschinsky/U.S. Forest Service) Alaska's Tongass National Forest is one of the last great wild places. Spanning nearly 17 million acres in Southeast Alaska, it is the largest national forest in the United States and one of the world's largest remaining temperate rainforests. It is a sanctuary for grizzlies, wolves and salmon, a carbon-storing powerhouse, and home to communities who depend on the forest for their subsistence ways of life; nature-based tourism; and sustainable fishing. And yet, despite its immense ecological and economic value, the Tongass remains under threat. For decades, the logging industry and its political backers have tried to chip away at the Roadless Rule, a policy that protects just over half of the forest from road-building and industrial logging. Their argument? That cutting down these ancient trees is an economic necessity. But that claim crumbles when faced with the facts. The timber industry in the Tongass is not only economically unsustainable, it is a drain on the American taxpayer. Logging in the Tongass is heavily subsidized, with every dollar of timber revenue costing taxpayers far more in infrastructure, road maintenance and environmental mitigation. Logging is no longer a major economic driver in Southeast Alaska and attempting to return this outdated business model to the Tongass would come at the expense of industries that bring more jobs and revenue to the region: sustainable fishing, outdoor recreation and ecotourism. The Roadless Rule allows these industries to flourish, while also allowing reasonable exceptions for some development, when needed. In other words, it's a policy that's working well, so let's not break it. Unfortunately, on his first day in office, President Trump issued an executive order directing the Department of Agriculture to work toward repealing Roadless Rule protections for the Tongass National Forest. Nothing has happened yet, but we should expect it. Meanwhile, Trump's administration is taking a wrecking ball to federal agencies, including the Forest Service, which could make administration oversight of any logging and roadbuilding even more difficult. This further stretches an already severely understaffed region within the USFS, which can barely keep up with the annual permitting process for an ever-growing cruise and ecotourism industry. And now, two additional executive orders issued by the Trump administration on March 1 direct federal agencies to boost domestic timber harvest and increase timber production within national forests, by removing environmental regulations or protections for endangered species. All of this puts the Tongass gravely at risk. For more than 45 years, my family's company, The Boat Company, a nonprofit eco-cruise operation, has been proving that sustainable tourism is the real future of the Tongass. As the longest-running, conservation-based small ship operator in Southeast Alaska, The Boat Company has provided thousands of guests with an immersive, educational experience in this remarkable rainforest, fostering a deep appreciation for its wild beauty and the need to protect it. Our mission is simple but powerful: to inspire conservation through firsthand experience, ensuring that the Tongass remains intact for generations to come. This model is a shining example of how nature-based tourism can support local communities, preserve wildlife, and contribute to a thriving economy — without destroying the very place that makes it all possible. Tourism and recreation support far more jobs in Alaska than logging ever will, and they do so without requiring massive government handouts or permanent scars on the landscape. In 2019, Alaska's visitor industry generated over $4.5 billion in economic activity and supported more than 45,000 jobs — many of them in Southeast Alaska, where the Tongass is the main attraction. The numbers tell a clear story: Protecting the Tongass isn't just the right thing to do for the environment, it's the smart thing to do for the economy. Nature-based tourism is the economic future of Southeast Alaska. People come from all over the world to experience the Tongass as it was meant to be — wild, untamed and full of life. Whether they are fly fishing in crystal-clear streams, watching brown bears feast on salmon, or kayaking through misty fjords, visitors aren't coming for clear-cuts and access roads. They are coming for the promise of something truly wild, a place where nature still holds dominion. We must stop treating the forest as if its highest value is in board feet of lumber. Southeast Alaskans have moved past logging to new sustainable economies. The Tongass is worth more standing than cut. It is a climate buffer, a wildlife haven, and a driver of sustainable economic growth. Dismantling the Roadless Rule for the sake of an unprofitable industry would be a colossal mistake — one that future generations will not easily forgive. America has so few truly wild places left. The Tongass is a national treasure, a place that still humbles us with its grandeur. Let's keep it that way. It's time we take the lead and protect what truly matters. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump Orders Resource Development on Alaska Public Lands ‘to the Fullest Extent Possible,' But May Also Restore Hunting Opportunities
Among the spate of executive orders issued by the Trump Administration in the last two weeks was a key directive about Alaska's public lands and natural resources. The Unleashing Alaska's Extraordinary Resource Potential executive order is resurrecting controversial development projects like the Ambler Road and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. That same mandate could also reopen the door to millions of acres of federal land that became off limits to hunters during the Biden Administration. Issued on Jan. 20, the order emphasizes development of the state's natural gas, minerals, timber, seafood and other 'resources to the fullest extent possible.' The White House is clear in its intent to 'efficiently and effectively maximize the development and production' on both federal and state lands in Alaska. Related: Here's What Hunting and Conservation Groups Are Asking of the Trump Administration A less publicized provision instructs the Department of Interior to realign hunting opportunities on federal lands with those available on state lands. In recent years the federal government has chipped away at opportunities on federal land for caribou, moose, sheep, and bear hunters. The most notable was when, over objections from the Alaska Department of Game and Fish, 60 million acres of federal lands were closed to nonresident and most nonresident caribou hunters in 2022. Meanwhile, public hunting opportunities on state lands in Alaska have remained available. This executive order paves the way for returning many wildlife management decisions to the state. 'Ultimately, no one knows exactly what this mandate will look like over the next few years,' says Alaska outdoorsman and Outdoor Life staff writer Tyler Freel, who has reported extensively on both extraction and hunting access issues in his state. 'Anti-development folks will view it as an environmental doomsday, and resource-hungry industrialists hope it will be a free-for-all. It's likely, and should be our hope, that the state can continue to increase resource development in a responsible manner. It's unlikely all these projects will proceed. Ultimately we should pay attention, support what's reasonable, and oppose what isn't.' It's no surprise to see such strong language in the order, given Trump's 'drill baby, drill' refrain. But it's still causing alarm in the conservation community, which has generally opposed increased resource development over concerns for wildlife, habitat, and wilderness. Among other changes, the mandate has reversed the BLM's 2024 denial of the Ambler Road permit and overturned the Alaska Roadless Rule, which will impact 9 million acres of the Tongass National Forest. As we reported in 2020, the Trump administration removed the Roadless Rule, and the Biden administration reinstated it in 2023. The mandate also targets oil and gas leasing in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and again revokes the conservation status of 28 million acres of public land that had been withdrawn from mineral and energy development since 1971. In January 2021 the first Trump administration began withdrawing those protections, which had previously endured no matter which political party controlled the White House. 'President Trump's actions suggest 'energy dominance' means letting fossil fuels totally rule over our public lands and overshadow all other uses. That isn't what most people want,' said senior director for government relations of the Wilderness Society Lydia Weiss in a statement. 'America's public lands are part of what makes us great as a nation. They are a key part of our shared heritage and can unite us when so much is threatening to tear us apart. Today's actions are a dire threat to this common ground. We depend on public lands as places to hunt, hike and play; havens for hallowed ancestral and cultural sites; and refuge for threatened wildlife.' Related: Drilling for Oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Two Perspectives from Alaskan Outdoorsmen The executive order doesn't completely clear the way for instant development. Controversial developments like proposed mines in Alaska's Bristol Bay and near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota have routinely been shut down, green lit, and shut down again as presidential administrations turn over. Lawsuits have proven a key weapon in the battles for these types of public lands, and we can expect to see those continue. While the full-speed ahead philosophy on resource extraction doesn't signal a willingness to compromise, another section of President Trump's mandate actually focuses on resolving a growing gulf between Alaska's state and federal land managers. Among other guidance, the White House instructs 'all bureaus of the Department of the Interior to ensure to the greatest extent possible that hunting and fishing opportunities on Federal lands are consistent with similar opportunities on State lands.' It also requires the DOI to 'conduct meaningful consultation with the State fish and wildlife management agencies prior to enacting land management plans or other regulations that affect the ability of Alaskans to hunt and fish on public lands.' The biggest loss of hunting access in Alaska, as we mentioned, was when the Federal Subsistence Board closed 60-million acres of public land to everyone but qualified local subsistence caribou hunters in 2022. That closure followed a smaller but still notable loss of access when nearly 1.5 million acres of BLM land in unit 13 were closed in 2020 to everyone but, again, qualified local subsistence hunters. While the proposed closures cited concerns about caribou herd health, Freel has maintained that herds fluctuate over time and the real issue was rooted in human conflict. Another blow to Alaska sportsmen came in July 2023. Just as Alaska hunters were preparing for their 2023 sheep season, all federal lands in the central Brooks Range were closed to Dall sheep hunting. Notably, that included the archery-only Dalton Highway Corridor Management Area. These two-year closures were extended in 2024, and expanded further when the National Park Service successfully lobbied the Federal Subsistence Board to close federal lands to sheep hunters in the Yukon Charlie National Preserve. Then, in December, the National Park Service issued its final rule restricting bear baiting on Alaska lands managed by the NPS. State officials have been trying to regain control over wildlife management on places like the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. (This dispute between the State of Alaska and the USFWS stems from an Obama administration policy that banned several common and traditional hunting practices — namely the ban on hunting brown or grizzly bears with the aid of bait on more than 6 million acres of federal refuge and preserve lands.) 'Many Alaskans have a skeptical or downright sour view of federal agencies and Interior Department-appointed land managers,' Freel wrote in 2023. 'The struggle goes back decades, and agencies like the National Park Service have an earned reputation for pressing anti-hunting, especially anti-predator hunting, restrictions and agendas. The NPS proposal [then on the table] cites 'public safety' concerns, but ignores countless examples of successful and well-managed bear baiting areas that have healthy populations of bears and minimal negative human contact.' Read Next: Federal Agencies Continue to Cut Hunting Opportunities in Alaska The language in Trump's executive order echoes the lawsuit filed by the state, urging federal agencies to comply with ANILCA. That legislation, passed in 1980, acknowledges the unique management challenges of Alaska's vast tracts of public lands and requires federal agencies to cooperate with state managers. ANILCA also has a statutory requirement to prioritize subsistence management.
