A Biden administration decision that would end large-scale old-growth logging in Tongass National Forest, a critical spawning area for thousands of wild salmon, is sparking criticism from the timber industry and kudos from seafood harvesters.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s new Southeast Alaska Sustainability Strategy would still allow small and micro sales of old growth timber for community consumption and cultural uses such as totem poles, canoes and tribal artisan use. The strategy also mandates consultation with tribes and Alaska Native corporations and engaging partners and communities in a collaborative process to invest some $25 million in financial and technical resources for economic growth in Southeast Alaska.
The plan is a reversal of a Trump administration decision to lift restrictions on logging and building roads in the 17-million-acre rainforest, which is home to an abundance of wildlife, from brown bears to wolves and eagles.
The plan announced on July 15 called for a locally based team from the USDA to meet with stakeholders to identify practical opportunities to deploy up to $25 million to the region.
The Alaska Forest Association, based in Ketchikan, expressed disappointment with the decision by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, saying that AFA supports a working forest where forest management is based on sustainable resource-handling practices and decisions that provide year-round opportunities for jobs, recreation, affordable energy and transportation options, and access to vital subsistence resources for Southeast Alaska residents. AFA recognizes the work undertaken by U.S. Forest Service employees in the Tongass and Region 10 over the last eight years to move forward with its transition blueprint, said Tessa Axelson, executive director of AFA.
“What a monumental loss for the USFS, the Tongass and Alaska that this work will be set aside,” she said. “Professionals, not politics, should manage the region’s natural resources.”
The state’s congressional delegation also cited the USDA decision as a detriment to Southeast Alaska’s economic future.
Veteran fishermen like Linda Behnken, president of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association in Sitka, praised the USDA decision. “The Tongass old-growth forests are critical to the health of the planet, people, fisheries and economy not only in Southeast Alaska, but outside the region of Southeast Alaska as well, Behnken said. “The Southeast Alaska ecosystem, which holds as its heart and lungs the Tongass National Forest, can be thought of [as] one marvelous sea-bank, rich in natural capital, paying generous annual dividends, and with assets that support local jobs and a sustainable economy… We recognize that there is precious little time before our planetary ecology and climate are pushed beyond recoverable limits.”
“The Tongass is not only one of the few wild places left on the planet – it is vital to our path forward as we deal with climate change,” said Mary Catharine Martin, communications director for SalmonState.
“The real value of the Tongass is in its abundant fish and wildlife, its cultural resources and in its beautiful scenery and wild landscapes,” said Austin Williams, Alaska director of law and policy for Trout Unlimited. “The USDA decision will help ensure these values remain long into the future, that we are investing where we see the greatest return, and that management of the Tongass supports the region’s economic mainstays of fishing and tourism.”
A healthy forest is integral to the local economy with fishing and tourism making up one in four of the region’s jobs and contributing $2 billion annually to the local economy, he said.
