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Forest May Open To Logging

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The Associated Press

Published: January 26, 2008

WASHINGTON - More than 3 million acres in Alaska's Tongass National Forest would be open to logging under a federal plan that supporters think will revive the state's timber industry.

Environmentalists, however, fear the proposal will devastate the forest.

The Bush administration released Friday a management plan for the forest, the largest in the country at nearly 17 million acres. The plan would leave about 3.4 million acres open to logging, road building and other development, including about 2.4 million acres that are now remote and roadless. About 663,000 acres are in areas considered most valuable for timber production.

Alaska Regional Forester Denny Bschor, who approved the Tongass management plan, said its goals are to sustain the diversity and health of the forest, provide livelihoods and subsistence for Alaska residents, and ensure a source of recreation and solitude for forest visitors.
Environmentalists said the plan continues a Bush administration policy of catering to the timber industry.

"The new plan suffers from the same central problem as the old plan. It leaves 2.4 million acres of wild, roadless backcountry areas open to clear-cutting and new logging roads," said Tom Waldo, an attorney for the environmental group Earthjustice.

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