Southeast Alaskans have been given the opportunity to lift the onerous roadless designation from the Tongass National Forest, and yet many have testified to leave it in place.
We're astonished. That's not the Alaskan way.
Why do we want the federal government to maintain continued control of the Tongass?
The roadless designation was put in place as yet another padlock on national forests that were already protected and commercial activity was eliminated or severely stymied. Half of the Tongass has been declared as wilderness. Why continue another layer of protection on lands that have already been set-aside?
Roads such as those built by the logging industry, give residents and visitors access to thousands of square miles of recreation and hunting opportunities.
Today those roads are in need of repair and in some cases the rights of way need to be cleared.
With drought conditions coming into play, Alaskans need access to more sources of water for both consumption and for hydro generation. Roads make those projects accessible for both construction and maintenance of the needed infrastructure.
Logging activities on the Tongass are not likely to resume much beyond the level at which they subsist today. With the S.E. pulp mills gone there is no need for the level of timber harvesting which took place in the 1970s and 1980s.
The US Forest Service mission is unchanged to this day. They are to manage the forests for multiple uses that include recreation, logging, mining, and even fisheries enhancement. The national forests are large enough to support those functions with minimal conflict.
We're even more puzzled that the fishing industry speaks against lifting the Roadless Rule, out of fear of commercial activities hurting fisheries.
For crying out loud, at the end of the logging era in Southeast, every fish stream was protected by a 100 yard buffer, clear cuts were reduced in scope and forests have regenerated to the point that second and sometimes third cuts can take place in many areas.
By the 1990s, the Forest Service was actually beginning to get it right.
Alternative 6 is the preferred alternative of Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue who oversees the Forest Service. It would keep the current Forest Service Plan intact and yet would create more options and more flexibility in the execution of the Forest Plan. What's wrong with that?
Fewer federal restrictions are what Alaskans should favor. Alternative 1 – the do nothing option, leaves continuing obstacles in the path to progress.
Comments for lifting the Roadless Rule in its entirety should be submitted to the Forest Service website. The deadline is midnight on Dec. 17.
Logging is no longer the issue. The issue is flexibility in providing Alaskans with opportunities to access the forests for recreation, resources, infrastructure and future development for our communities.
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