"Tongass Land Management Plan"

“We spent 23 years together in Alaska and just having an opportunity to come back and re-engage with folks and work on Alaska issues has just been a dream of mine,” said incoming Regional Forester David Schmid.

Congress recently learned it has the power to overturn the amended Tongass Land Management Plan, a document that was years in the making. A Juneau business owner flew to Washington, D.C., with a message for the Alaska Congressional delegation: “don’t.”

At the end of the 16-year transition, only 5 million feet of old growth will be provided for small sales and specialty products.

The amendment to phase out old-growth logging has been in the works since 2014. It takes effect in 30 days.

Alaska U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski spoke to a group of constituents over pizza and beer at Baranof Island Brewing Co.

The U.S. Forest Service moved forward Thursday with plans to transition to second-growth harvest on the Tongass National Forest within 16 years.

The transition started early in the Obama administration. There could be at least three more presidents before it becomes a full reality.

Conservation groups that threatened to sue the U.S. Forest Service over the Big Thorne Timber Sale have followed through.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has named 15 people to a committee providing advice on changes in Tongass National Forest management.