Timber

Eventually, it will be up to the U.S. Forest Service to choose one of four options, which represent a spectrum of ideas about how the Tongass should be managed.

This latest proposed Tongass timber sale on Prince of Wales Island would dwarf anything seen in decades. The public has until mid-December to weigh in on the U.S. Forest Service’s plan.

Petersburg’s borough assembly Monday voted down a resolution calling for a forensic audit of two Tongass National Forest timber sales. Back in May, the assembly also voted against sending a letter on lost revenue from the sales and the impact to Petersburg.

Gov. Walker’s advisory panel is looking at where roads could be built inside the Tongass National Forest. But more than two dozen people testified at a hearing in Juneau against the idea.

Timber, fishing and mining interests have been tapped by Gov. Walker for an advisory panel over development in the Tongass National Forest. The U.S. Forest Service is eyeing an Alaska-specific rule that could relax road building and logging restrictions.

Tariffs will be placed on trees shipped to China: a response to President Donald Trump’s latest wave of tariffs on Chinese goods.