President Joe Biden's Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday that it has finalized rules to reverse the 2020 Alaska Roadless Rule enacted under the administration of former President Donald Trump to allow development in 9.73 million acres of the Tongass National Forest in Alaska.
"As our nation's largest national forest and the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world, the Tongass National Forest is key to conserving biodiversity and addressing the climate crisis," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a press release Wednesday. "Restoring roadless protections listens to the voices of Tribal Nations and the people of Southeast Alaska while recognizing the importance of fishing and tourism to the region's economy."
The move, which is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on Friday, reverses the 2020 "state-specific" regulation that allowed for construction and reconstruction of roads, and permit timber harvesting on about 55% of the 16.8 million acres of preserve to benefit Alaska's economic development, according to the 2020 rule.
Biden, however, vowed on his first day in office to review the Trump policy and has since worked to revert back to the initial 2001 Roadless Rule prohibiting construction and timber harvesting on the land.
"Restoring the Tongass' roadless protections supports the advancement of economic, ecologic, and cultural sustainability in Southeast Alaska in a manner that is guided by local voices," Vilsack said in November 2021. "The proposed rule is considerate of Alaska's Tribal Nations, community input, and builds on the region's economic drivers of tourism and fishing."
Alaska had petitioned then-USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue for exempting the Tongass from the 2001 regulation back in 2018.
"We will continue to work with the people of Alaska, the state government, industry, tribes, and Alaska native corporations to maintain the health and vibrancy of our National Forests," former Secretary Perdue said at the time. "The national forests in Alaska should be working forests for all industries."
According to the USDA, the agency has since received more than 112,000 public comments on the issue between November 2021 to January 2022, asking to restore the 2001 protections to the forest.
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