Attorney General Becerra Opposes Federal Attempt to Exempt Alaska’s Tongass National Forest from Critical Environmental Protection

Monday, December 16, 2019
Contact: (916) 210-6000, agpressoffice@doj.ca.gov

SACRAMENTO – Attorney General Becerra, leading a multistate coalition, filed comments today opposing the U.S. Forest Service’s (Forest Service) proposed rule exempting Alaska’s Tongass National Forest (Tongass) from the national Roadless Area Conservation Rule (Roadless Rule). Exempting Tongass from the Roadless Rule — which prohibits certain road construction and timber harvesting in national forests —  would remove critical protections from 9.2 million acres of land. The proposal would open up millions of acres to development, endangering important fish and wildlife and undermining state efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

"‘Cause I said so’ has never constituted sustainable legal or rational federal policy. Yet, that’s the essence of the Trump Administration’s reasoning for exposing millions of acres of environmentally sensitive and vital public lands and wildlife to exploitation in the Tongass National Forest,” said Attorney General Becerra. “At this critical juncture in humankind’s fight to sustain a habitable planet, we must protect public lands and the fish and wildlife that reside within them if we expect to preserve our own species. We urge the Trump administration to withdraw its dangerous proposal to radically and inexplicably change the management of the Tongass National Forest.”

The Tongass National Forest is a largely untouched remnant of a vast temperate rainforest that once stretched along the Pacific Coast from Alaska to northern California. The forest has remained relatively undeveloped as a result of the Forest Service’s 2001 Roadless Rule prohibiting the construction or reconstruction of roads and the harvesting of timber in certain areas of National Forests. The Trump administration’s expansive proposal would transform land management of Tongass, opening up millions of acres to development and damaging the forest’s capacity to absorb and store carbon dioxide. As a nationally significant carbon sink and home to a number of vulnerable fish and wildlife species, Tongass is a vital resource that deserves federal protection.

In the comment letter, the attorneys general assert that the Forest Service has failed to provide a rational explanation for exempting Tongass from the Roadless Rule. The Ninth Circuit considered and rejected an exemption for Tongass in 2001, and the Service has not provided any new adequate reasons for abandoning protections in the area. The coalition also argues that the draft environmental impact statement (EIS) fails to rationally assess the environmental impacts of the Tongass exemption, particularly the impact of opening up millions of acres to new logging.

The coalition further asserts that the Forest Service’s proposal unlawfully:

  • Postpones the evaluation of certain impacts until particular projects are proposed;
  • Discounts the potential climate impacts of logging despite scientific evidence to the contrary;
  • Claims without evidence or analysis that the rule would have no meaningful impact on fish, wildlife, migratory birds, forest resources or climate; and
  • Fails to reinitiate Endangered Species Act consultation on the potential impacts of the exemption on listed species such as the short-tailed albatross, humpback whales, and green sturgeon.

Along with Attorney General Becerra, the coalition filing the comments includes the attorneys general of Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, and Washington.

A copy of the comments can be found here.

# # #