Southeast Alaskans who rely on the Tongass National Forest for food say the Trump administration’s decision to lift the Roadless Rule threatens their way of life.
"Roadless Rule"
Alaskans react to Trump Administration’s Roadless Rule rollback in the Tongass
The Trump administration’s decision could be reversed through a court challenge or an act of Congress. Alternatively, another presidential administration could revisit the rule — but that would require public comment, meetings and another multi-year process.
Trump administration will eliminate roadless protections for Alaska’s Tongass forest
Wednesday’s announcement, in a preliminary version of a government publication called the Federal Register, was broadly expected.
‘Another broken promise’: Tribes say feds ignored their input on Roadless Rule exemption for Tongass
Last month the Forest Service started a 30-day clock to completely exempt Tongass National Forest from the 2001 Roadless Rule.
Watchdog group sues Forest Service for release of Tongass timber sales audit
Elected officials and residents in Petersburg have also asked about lost revenues from past timber sales and what’s been done to correct oversight.
Trump administration starts 30-day countdown to exempt Tongass from ‘Roadless Rule’
The Trump administration announced last week that it’s planning a full rollback of the Clinton-era “Roadless Rule” for the Tongass National Forest.