Trump administration strips protection from US’s largest forest

Timber harvest and road construction is now allowed for more than three million hectares of Tongass National Forest. The Trump administration has lifted environmental protection in the largest forest in the United States, opening up more than three million hectares in Tongass National Forest to logging despite opposition from environmental groups and Indigenous leaders. The Tongass – sometimes referred to as “America’s Amazon” – spans nearly seven million hectares across southeast Alaska, including the capital, Juneau, and is home to diverse wildlife and trees. https://t.co/LdTEzBwWfs — Governor Mike Dunleavy October 29, 2020 The US Department of Agriculture said lifting the roadless rule could be done “without major adverse impacts to the recreation, tourism, and fishing industries, while providing benefits to the timber and mining industries, increasing opportunities for community infrastructure, and eliminating unnecessary regulations”. “Taking an axe to old-growth protections for the Tongass is among the most reckless and irresponsible of the Trump administration’s environmental rollbacks.” Indigenous groups have also raised alarm over the Trump administration’s plan to open the national forest up to logging.