Source: In These Times
by Caroleine James
“Stretching across nearly 17 million acres, the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska is the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world. In 2001, President Bill Clinton signed the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, protecting 58.5 million acres of national forest land — including more than half of the Tongass — from roads and logging. For nearly two decades, Alaska’s ‘drill, baby, drill’ leadership chafed at these restrictions. When Donald Trump was first elected, they saw an opening and encouraged the new administration to reconsider the Roadless Rule. Southeast tribal governments, who opposed fully lifting the protections, say the new rulemaking process failed to meaningfully engage with them. … Despite overwhelming opposition from tribes, fishermen, environmental groups and concerned citizens, Trump rolled back Roadless protections in 2020, opening up more than 9 million acres of the Tongass to logging.” (01/14/25)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/logging-climate-justice-alaska-trump-comic