August 6, 2003

The Bush Administration wants to open up Alaska's irreplaceable wild, undeveloped lands to logging. Currently these roadless lands are protected by a federal regulation that bars new logging roads. Former timber industry lobbyist Mark Rey, now the Undersecretary of Agriculture, has proposed amending this rule to eliminate the Tongass and Chugach national forests in Alaska. These forests contain more roadless, undeveloped lands than any other national forests.

This exemption would be an unfortunate and largely irreversible mistake. The Tongass National Forest harbors the largest remaining tracts of old-growth temperate rainforest in the world. Unlike most national forests, the Tongass still encompasses many undisturbed watersheds with a full complement of all native species, including productive populations of bald eagles, wolves, black-tailed deer, brown bears, marten, five species of salmon, and a variety of forest birds. Yet about two million acres of the Tongass's roadless areas remain open to development, including 450,000 acres of old-growth forest. Because so much of the low-elevation old growth of the Tongass has already been clearcut, the remaining intact forest is critically important to the continued productivity of the region's fish and wildlife.

In a letter 300 leading scientists, including Paul Ehrlich, Thomas Lovejoy, and E. O. Wilson had this to say about Tongass roadless areas: "These areas are critical because they represent the least disturbed habitats in an almost universally disturbed landscape. ...The ecological risks associated with developing these areas are extremely high, and may jeopardize fishing, hunting, tourism, recreation, and subsistence in Southeast Alaska." These same scientists went on to urge "please afford the remaining roadless areas within America's largest national forest and our nation's most substantial old-growth forest ecosystem the same level of protection and precautionary management as those in national forests throughout the rest of the United States."

The deadline for commenting on eliminating protection for Alaska's roadless lands is September 2, 2003. Please send your letter today! The address to write to is:

USDA–Forest Service
Roadless Tongass National Forest Content Analysis Team
P.O. Box 22810
Salt Lake City, UT 84122

Here is a link to the proposed roadless rule amendment.