Featured Press Release
Forest Service to rezone nation’s largest forest: the Tongass
JUNEAU—SalmonState commends the U.S. Department of Agriculture for today announcing that it is beginning, for the first time in almost three decades, a first full rewrite of the Land Management Plan for the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska.
SalmonState commends Roadless Rule reinstatement
JUNEAU—SalmonState commends the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s decision today to reinstate the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which comes in response to overwhelming support in Southeast Alaska. The reinstatement is a core element of the U.S. Forest Service’s Southeast Alaska Sustainability Strategy — a new approach to land management and development that puts Southeast Alaskan communities and Tribes squarely in the lead.
SalmonState on CODEL’s roundtable: These actions will help wild salmon
JUNEAU—Alaska’s Congressional delegation will host a salmon roundtable tomorrow, Wednesday, Dec. 8 and Thursday, December 9, beginning at 12:30 p.m. AKST both days.
SalmonState praises Biden Administration for prioritizing sustainable uses of the Tongass National Forest by reinstating Roadless protections
JUNEAU, AK — Tonight, SalmonState commends the Biden Administration for its decision to reinstate protections for road-free areas of the America’s largest and wildest national forest. The Roadless Area Conservation rule, in place for two decades, was rolled back by the Trump Administration. That move proved wildly unpopular within the region and across the nation.
With today’s move into the 21st century, the Tongass timber wars are over
JUNEAU—Today’s U.S. Forest Service announcement ending industrial-scale old growth logging, moving toward restoring Roadless Rule protections, and prioritizing the sustainable uses of the Tongass National Forest is a long-overdue move to shift management of America’s largest national forest into the 21st century.
Alaska’s Bristol Bay and Tongass are ideal beginnings for 30×30
JUNEAU— SalmonState is excited to see the release of the Biden Administration’s initial report on the potential of the 30x30 initiative — a bold and necessary effort to protect 30% of America’s lands and waters by 2030. While there are multiple ways to reach these goals, two landscapes in Alaska offer a critical mass of support for 30x30-scale protections: Bristol Bay and the Tongass National Forest. Protecting Bristol Bay and the Tongass will provide huge positive impact now and light the way for successful efforts elsewhere.
Alaskans ask Biden Administration to Move Quickly to Protect Critical Alaskan Salmon Watersheds, Make 30×30 a ‘Reality’
Juneau, AK – Yesterday, President Biden released his plan to address climate change, including a ‘30×30’ provision that calls for conservation of 30 percent of our lands and oceans by 2030. “Coming on the heels of an alarming report from the State of Washington showing salmon on the brink of extinction with climate change being a major factor, we need to take bold steps right now if we are going to have a fighting chance to preserve the healthy wild salmon runs many of us take for granted,” said SalmonState executive director Tim Bristol.
Over Tribal, resident, widespread objections, U.S. Forest Service to finalize politically-driven Tongass plan
JUNEAU, AK— The U.S. Forest Service today announced that its politically-driven plan to open 9.3 million currently protected acres of the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska to industrial development, including clearcut logging of temperate rainforest old growth, will become official tomorrow, October 29, when the Record of Decision will be published in the Federal Register.
Forest Service confirms plan to strip Roadless protections for the Tongass, steamrolling Alaskans
JUNEAU, AK—SalmonState condemns the U.S. Forest Service’s announcement today, in a press release, that it will open more than 9 million acres of the Tongass National Forest to taxpayer-subsidized old-growth logging and industrial development. The Forest Service said it is forging ahead with a full exemption to the Roadless Rule, something Alaska’s Congressional Delegation and governor have pressed for despite overwhelming testimony from Alaskans asking for protections to remain in place. The Final Environmental Impact Statement for the decision will be released tomorrow, September 25, with a Record of Decision coming as early as October 26.