Now Is the Time to Speak for the Tongass

The U.S. Forest Service has initiated a revision of the Tongass National Forest plan. For this stage of the process, the public has until March 20 to comment on how they think the forest should be managed and what should be included in the environmental review accompanying the plan.  

At stake is whether the Forest Service will continue to shift its management strategy in support of  a resilient climate, thriving Indigenous cultures, healthy subsistence and commercial fisheries, recreation, tourism, and forest restoration—or whether it will backslide and try to bring back a bygone, unsustainable era focused on clearcutting the Tongass’s ancient trees at the expense of the communities and wildlife that depend on a healthy forest.    

This is a critical time for the public to tell the Forest Service it’s time to end old-growth logging in the Tongass once and for all, protect roadless areas, and support Southeast Alaska tribes, climate resilience, healthy fish and wildlife, and fisheries and recreation – sustainable economies that have grown while logging has declined.  

Now is when tribes, communities, forest advocates, business owners and anyone who cares about the Tongass, and the livelihoods it supports, can help shape its future.  

This won’t be the last time to comment on the plan, but it’s important to set the tone early for the months and years ahead of forest planning. The Forest Service said it will use public comments to help guide the draft revised plan and the draft environmental impact statement, expected this fall. 

The threats to the Tongass’s wild, intact ecosystems have grown under this administration. The agency said it will ensure the plan is consistent with two forest executive orders, E.O. 14153, “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential” and E.O. 14225, “Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production” aimed at maximizing mineral extraction and logging in Alaska.  

And then there’s the proposed repeal of the Roadless Rule. Expected soon is a proposed rule and draft Environmental Impact Statement repealing roadless protections on the Tongass National Forest, the Chugach National Forest, and many other wild forest lands in the Lower 48 – stripping Roadless Rule protections potentially from a total of 45 million acres across 36 states and Puerto Rico.  

All of this is happening at a time when commercial timber sales on the Tongass are beginning to ramp up again, including large, old-growth sales. The Forest Service is reviving a massive old-growth logging project that covers more than 40,000 acres on the southern part of Revilla Island east of Ketchikan in the Tongass.  The Forest Service’s own analysis for the timber sale shows that the trees are worth more standing than they are cut down; none of the old-growth logging proposals considered in the South Revilla analysis are projected to appraise positive, meaning they would cost more to tax payers than they would bring in.  This continues a decades-long trend of spending millions of dollars in taxpayer money to cut the ancient trees of the Tongass. 

More large, old-growth sales can be expected if the Roadless Rule is successfully repealed.  

Once finalized, the revised forest plan will set the Forest Service’s management priorities for the Tongass for the next decade or more.  

What comes next?  

Every national forest in the United States is governed by a Land Management Plan (Forest Plan) in accordance with the  National Forest Management Act of 1976. The Tongass National Forest Plan was originally developed over 25 years ago, in 1997 and was most recently amended in 2016.  Forest plans provide a guide for future forest management by creating standards for projects and activities and identifying areas where those activities are appropriate. They must be revised every 15 years.  

The current plan revision process began in 2024 with initial listening sessions. Where we are now is at the beginning stages of developing an environmental analysis to look at different alternatives for managing the forest.  The Forest Service is currently looking for public input about what should go into that analysis, currently expected in the fall.   

When the draft study is released, there will be more public engagement and opportunities to comment, followed by a final plan and record of decision (currently projected for 2028). This Forest Service website details the current timeline.  

The Forest Service is also planning in-person meetings from the end of March through early May in Southeast Alaska communities. For more information on those meetings, visit this webpage and look under “In-Person Engagement Opportunities.”  

While there is a lengthy process ahead, the earlier Forest Service officials hear from us about what we want for the Tongass, the better.  

Do you have ideas regarding the future of the Tongass National Forest?  Now is the time to begin having your voice be heard.