Court declines to hear Tongass appeal

JUNEAU (AP) – The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review an appeals court decision that reinstated prohibitions on road-building and timber harvests in roadless areas of the Tongass National Forest.

Earthjustice attorney Tom Waldo called this great news for the Tongass, the country’s largest national forest. The state had requested the review after a divided federal appeals court in July found that the U.S. Department of Agriculture did not give a reasoned explanation for reversing course and creating a special exemption to the “Roadless Rule” for the Tongass.

In a release, Waldo said that remaining wild and undeveloped parts of the forest are important wildlife habitat and important to local residents for hunting, fishing, recreation and tourism.

A separate state challenge to the Roadless Rule is still pending in a federal court.