Murkowski, Sullivan: Tongass is a National Forest, not a political football

• News Home
• More from News of the North

Thursday, January 26th, 2023 10:35am

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Messenger
• Share on Messenger
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Whatsapp

Juneau, Alaska (KINY) - U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan released the following statements after the USDA Forest Service finalized its repeal of the Tongass National Forest’s exemption from the 2001 Roadless Rule.

Wednesday's decision reinstates the 2001 rule, ignoring requests from the State of Alaska and data and analysis from the last administration that supported the 2020 exemption.

“The Roadless Rule should never have applied to the Tongass, and the Biden administration’s decision to reinstate it is federal paternalism at its worst. Roughly 80 percent of the Tongass is already protected through existing law, land use designations, and the forest planning process, and there is no threat of large-scale development from timber harvesting or any other activity,” Senator Murkowski said. “With this decision, the Biden administration is turning the Tongass into a political football, where access changes with each new President and creates whiplash for those who might want to invest or build in Southeast Alaska. We should see this for what it is: a regulation in spite of reality that will only serve to make it take longer, cost more, or outright impossible to develop the limited infrastructure—including renewable energy—necessary for a sustainable regional economy.”

“The Biden Administration has now unleashed 42 executive orders or actions targeting Alaska and the economic well-being of our citizens. No other state in the Union is getting such targeted and unwanted attention from the Biden administration. I have repeatedly called on President Biden for a ceasefire in his war on Alaska’s working families, but to no avail,” said Senator Sullivan. “Alaskans in Southeast—like any Americans—have a right to connect their communities, sustain local economies, build renewable energy projects, and responsibly harvest resources. But the Forest Service’s return to the overly-burdensome 2001 Roadless Rule totally undermines all of those. My message to hard-working Alaskans who are being crushed and utterly disregarded by this Administration: I will fight this and other Biden Administration anti-Alaska actions with everything in my power.”

The Tongass National Forest spans nearly 16.7 million acres, covering nearly all of Southeast Alaska, and is home to 32 islanded communities.

For decades, successive layers of federal law and regulation, including the Roadless Rule, have continually restricted access needed for timber, mining, tourism, recreation, and the development of renewable resources such as hydropower.

Separate and apart from the Roadless Rule, the Tongass is well protected under existing law. Some 80 percent of the forest is already conserved in Congressionally-designated Wilderness, National Parks and National Monuments, or other natural setting land-use designations—meaning only ten percent of the Tongass is available for any kind of development.

(Click here to read the opinion piece that Senator Murkowski wrote for The Washington Post in 2019 explaining why the Roadless Rule is unnecessary.)

In 2018, the Forest Service announced it would develop a state-specific Roadless Rule focused on the Tongass.

The Alaska-specific rule, finalized in October 2020, exempted the Tongass from the one-size-fits-all Roadless Rule, which established sweeping prohibitions on road construction, road reconstruction, and timber harvest on inventoried roadless areas on National Forest System lands beginning in 2001.

The 2020 rule came in response to a petition from the State of Alaska requesting a full exemption for the Tongass, and helped restore balanced management and reasonable economic prospects within the Tongass.

More from News of the North

• Judge sentences inmate three more years for failing to submit DNA sample

  Kenai, Alaska (KINY) - Superior Court Judge Eric B. Smith found David Simmons guilty of five counts of violating an order to submit to DNA testing after hearing evidence at a court trial conducted on Mar. 22.

• Official: Willow oil project holds promise, faces obstacles

  Juneau, Alaska (AP) - The Willow oil project on Alaska's petroleum-rich North Slope is part of a “new era” of large-scale development in the region but it isn't a sure thing, with litigation and costs among the factors that stand as potential impediments, a state official told lawmakers Thursday.

• National Alliance for Mental Illness Juneau to start a Family to Family educational group

  Juneau, Alaska (KINY) - NAMI Juneau came onto Capital Chat to talk about a variety of their mental health resources.

• Alaska looks to lead the way in youth employment outcomes

  Juneau, Alaska (KINY) - On Mar. 13 U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced they have selected a team from the State of Alaska to be one of nine teams from "communities" across the nation to participate in a five-month Youth Systems Building Academy.

• AK Law’s Consumer Protection Section obtains restitution for Alaska consumers who were denied their rights to return products by Bellissima Cosmetics

  Anchorage, Alaska (KINY) - Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor announced on Thursday a settlement with Bellissima Cosmetics.

• Alaska House votes more funding to fix food-stamp crisis, prevent budget trouble

  Juneau, Alaska (Alaska Beacon) - The Alaska House of Representatives voted 38-1 on Wednesday to approve a fast-moving budget bill that spends as much as $365 million to cover a shortfall in state revenue caused by lower-than-expected oil prices.

• Kaine and Murkowski introduce bill to reduce maternal and infant mortality, address racial inequities in maternal health

  Washington, D.C. (KINY) - U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Lisa Murkowski members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, reintroduced the Mothers and Newborns Success Act.

• Public comment invited for environmental analysis on Hecla Greens Creek Mine extension project

  Juneau, Alaska (KINY) - – The public can review a supplemental draft environmental impact statement and submit any comments during a 45-day comment period for the proposed North Extension Project at Hecla Greens Creek Mine.

• Juneau Capitals win the State Championship in Kenai

  Juneau, Alaska (KINY) - The Juneau Capitals gave it their best shot at the 12 U A tournament. Meanwhile, in the 10 U A tournament, the Juneau Capitals won. (Updated with pictures and story about Juneau 10u A win in Kenai.)

• Mining Association of British Columbia responds to Southeast Alaska

  Juneau, Alaska (KINY) - Over the last month, a number of different articles and releases have come out that have been critical of the mining being done in British Columbia, Canada.

• Alaska legislators fail to block pay hike, but additional action is planned to stop it

  Juneau, Alaska (Alaska Beacon) - A lengthy debate Wednesday resulted in no action by the Alaska Legislature to prevent a 67% salary increase approved by a state commission

• Juneau Douglas High School cheer team tumbles through another successful season

  Juneau, Alaska (KINY) - Juneau Douglas High School cheer team coach Carlene Nore wrapped up how they performed at nationals, regions, and at state (where they're performing currently).