Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan (both R-Alaska) released the following statements following U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins’ announcement that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is beginning the process to repeal the 2001 Roadless Rule on a nationwide basis.
“The Roadless Rule has never fit Alaska, so I welcome this effort to rescind it,” Senator Murkowski said. “Even without the rule in place, nearly 80 percent of the Tongass National Forest will still be explicitly restricted from development. Repeal will not lead to environmental harm, but it will help open needed opportunities for renewable energy, forestry, mining, tourism, and more in areas that are almost completely under federal control. This is particularly critical for our continued efforts to build a sustainable year-round economy in Southeast Alaska.”
“I welcome the decision by Secretary Rollins and President Trump to rescind the Roadless Rule and allow for proper management of U.S. Forest System lands in Alaska,” Senator Sullivan said.“Since 2001, this rule has hindered Alaskan’s ability to responsibly harvest timber, develop minerals, connect communities, or build energy projects at lower costs—including renewable energy projects like hydropower, which are especially critical to economic opportunities in Southeast Alaska surrounded by the Tongass National Forest. I am grateful that the Trump administration is once again rescinding this rule to put Alaskans back in the driver’s seat to make a living, support our families, and connect our communities while protecting our lands and growing our economy.”
The Tongass National Forest spans nearly 16.7 million acres, covering nearly all of Southeast Alaska, and is home to 32 islanded communities. Since 2001, the Roadless Rule has almost continually restricted access needed for timber, mining, tourism, recreation, and the development of renewable resources such as hydropower.
Separate and apart from the Roadless Rule, the Tongass is well protected under existing law. Some 80 percent of the forest is already conserved in congressionally-designated wilderness, National Parks, National Monuments, or other natural setting land-use designations—meaning only a small fraction of the Tongass is available for any kind of development.
In 2018, the Forest Service announced it would develop a state-specific Roadless Rule focused on the Tongass. The Alaska-specific rule, finalized in October 2020, exempted the Tongass from the one-size-fits-all Roadless Rule, which established sweeping prohibitions on road construction, road reconstruction, and timber harvest on inventoried roadless areas on National Forest System lands beginning in 2001. The 2020 rule came in response to a petition from the State of Alaska requesting a full exemption for the Tongass, and helped restore balanced management and reasonable economic prospects within the Tongass.
In January 2023, the USDA Forest Service under the Biden administration finalized its repeal of the Tongass National Forest’s exemption from the 2001 Roadless Rule, against the request from the State of Alaska and data and analysis from the Trump administration that supported the 2020 exemption.
