Timber

But a federal judge agreed with the plaintiffs who argued that the federal agency didn’t follow the law when it approved the timber sales, because it hadn’t provided site-specific information on areas that could be logged.

In recent years, the assembly has been pretty split over the topic, even voting down multiple resolutions for or against a Tongass exemption. In 2019, assembly members agreed to take no position on roadless.

Analysis by the Woodwell Climate Research Center found that the Tongass National Forest holds 44% of all the carbon stored by the United States’ national forests. 

Other parties defending the exemption include the city of Craig, statewide and Southeast chambers of commerce, electric utilities, shipping companies and resource development advocacy groups.

A documentary film about the impacts of logging on Southeast Alaska’s Prince of Wales Island is starting to make its way through film festivals.

Soldotna is waiting on a federal grant to remove beetle kill trees that could fall and pose a fire risk.

The August 2020 internal agency audit found problems with oversight and administration of two large timber sales on the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska. It only saw the light of day after Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility sued for it. 

The Trump administration’s Tongass exemption opened up approximately 9.4 million acres of federal forest land to potential road building and other development.

An overwhelming majority on Ketchikan’s City Council wants to defend the Trump administration’s decision to exempt the Tongass National Forest from the Roadless Rule.

The group signed off on a letter to other advisory committees around Alaska urging them to take action on climate change.