The Trump administration is seeking to lift federal protections on the Tongass National Forest in Alaska, paving the way for possible timber harvests and road construction in the largest national forest in the U.S.

Department of Agriculture, called for the Tongass to be fully exempted from the Roadless Rule, a 2001 policy passed in the waning days of the Clinton administration.

The rule has long prohibited development on 9.2 million acres of inventoried roadless areas in the Tongass. The Forest Service’s proposal, if approved by the Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, would eliminate that rule for the Tongass and convert 165,000 acres of old-growth and 20,000 acres of young-growth to suitable timber lands.

Critics of the Roadless Rule say it hamstrings Alaska’s economy and hampers development for the 32 communities, including the state’s capital city of Juneau, that call the Tongass home.

Alaska Gov. Michael Dunleavy and the state’s congressional delegation, including Sen. Lisa Murkowski, welcomed the Trump administration’s proposal.

Defenders of the Roadless Rule are adamant that it should stay in place to protect wildlife habitat, recreation and industries such as fishing and tourism.

For Many, Issue Of Logging In America’s Largest National Forest Cuts Deep

Photo: Kevin Fleming/Corbis/VCG/Getty Images
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