​We’re seeing a renewed, comprehensive attack on National Forests in Alaska that seeks to turn over some of the most important fish and wildlife habitat on our public lands for development by special interests.

The Tongass is the Nation’s largest national forest and supplies habitat for the fisheries and ample recreation opportunity of the region. Combined, fishing and tourism supply 26% of the jobs in Southeast Alaska, but these important industries are being cast aside for outdated and unsustainable old-growth logging that accounts for less than 1% of regional jobs and costs taxpayers millions in annual federal subsidies.

Unfortunately, elected officials in the U.S. Congress and the State of Alaska continue to advance efforts to promote heavily-subsidized industrial uses of the Tongass or to privatize them through corporate giveaways and bad land swaps, ignoring impacts to sustainable industries that rely on intact habitat, beautiful scenery and wild places.

In recent months, the attack on the Tongass has spread to include the Chugach and has grown to include the following measures:

1. The State of Alaska’s Roadless petition: The national Roadless Rule was created almost two decades ago to protect wild areas on federal lands that provide important fish habitat, drinking water, and recreational and business opportunities. In Alaska, -many of these areas have become critical to local economies and are essential to the  fishing and tourism industries. This winter, the State petitioned the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the U.S. Forest Service, to exempt the Tongass from the Rule in a move that would enable highly-controversial logging and road building, prop up an outdated and highly-subsidized old-growth logging industry, and turn back the clock on years of successful collaboration in the region. We expect the State and U.S. Forest Service to move forward with rulemaking on this petition any day now.
2. Sen. Murkowski (R-AK) riders: Alaska’s senior senator has repeatedly introduced riders to exempt the state from the Roadless Rule and to repeal the 2016 Tongass forest plan, which added protections for high-value habitat areas while enabling a sustainable forest products industry based on a 16-year transition away from old growth logging. More than 270,000 public comments were received in favor of the Tongass Plan amendment and 7,233 Alaskans voiced support for increased protections for important fish and wildlife habitat in the creation of the Tongass forest plan. Most recently, Sen. Murkowski has introduced riders to exempt Alaska from the Roadless Rule in the FY19 appropriations bill.
3. Rep. Young (R-AK) riders: Alaska’s sole House representative passed a rider through that chamber to exempt Alaska from the Roadless Rule in the Farm Bill, and introduced a similar rider to the FY19 appropriations bill, though that was ruled out of order as of July 17.
4. Additional public lands bills: Senator Murkowski and Congressman Young have introduced an assortment of land transfer and privatization bills. A very short summary of these bills is includes:
   1. Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (S. 1481, 1483, 1484 and 1491) These bills would create brand new for-profit ANCSA corporations, increase the corporate land cap, expand corporate selection power, remove important federal protections for fish and wildlife, block public access, grant unwarranted subsurface rights, and privatize valuable public infrastructure (roads, log transfer facilities, docks, etc.).
   2. Alaska Native Allotment Act (S. 785 and 1481) Allows an estimated 2,800 individuals or their heirs to select and receive two parcels totaling 160 acres, each, from across federal land in Alaska including within designated wilderness areas. This would create a patchwork of 5,600 inholdings totaling 448,000 acres where the most valuable and important places in Alaska are private and closed to public access.

These efforts are a coordinated attempt to carve off large tracts of Alaska’s most important public lands, and in so doing, jeopardizes lucrative industries and recreation opportunity in Southeast Alaska.

Can you imagine if 5,600 in-holdings at many of the most prized and beloved locations around Alaska all the sudden became private and off-limits to public access across the state?

Imagine  “NO TRESSPASSING” signs within the heart of the world-famous Kenai Wildlife Refuge, on salmon-rich Prince of Wales Island, along famous steelhead rivers like the Situk, or even portions of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

This nightmare could become a reality under a new bill promoted by Senator Murkowski and Senator Sullivan, called the “Alaska Native Veterans Allotments Act” (S. 785/S.1481).

Originally passed in 1906, the Alaska Native Allotment Act allowed qualifying Alaska Native individuals to select and receive 160 acres each from federal lands in Alaska. This program sunset when Congress passed ANCSA in 1971. Congress re-opened the program in 1998 for an 18-month period, and is looking to do so again for the third time.

“This Land Is Your Land,” Woody Guthrie's now famous ode to the freedom and beauty of America, begins with the statement that “this land is your land, this land is my land.” Guthrie's vision was rooted in the freedom of movement in the country's natural splendor. In hindsight, it was a great call to action to both appreciate and keep America's public lands safe and open to all to enjoy.

As the country has evolved and developed, large areas of  stunning, open, public land has become more scarce. This should serve to remind citizens of the importance of national parks and public land space for conservation and overall wellbeing. One such example of how public lands can greatly benefit a community, a state, and the nation as a whole is the Tongass National Forest.

Located in Southeast Alaska, the Tongass is the largest national forest in the United States with more than 17 million acres of land, part of the largest temperate rainforest in the world. Home to a diverse range of species and rare flora and fauna, the Tongass spans part of the islands of the Alexander Archipelago and the fjords, glaciers, and peaks of the Coast Mountains and includes wetlands, snow, rock, ice, non-forest vegetation, and forests in 19 designated wilderness areas.

Protected creatures, which are rarely found in other parts of North America, roam the islands of Tongass along the coast. Salmon, brown and black bears, and bald eagles are all key inhabitants of the forest along with wolves, mountain goats, black-tailed deer, and migratory birds. Orca and humpback whales, sea lions, seals, sea otters, and porpoises populate the marine waters in the area. As far as human life goes, more than 75,000 people rely upon the land of the Tongass National Forest. It is also home to Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian peoples and 31 different communities, the largest of which is Alaska's capital, Juneau

The Tongass National Forest is well positioned as a part of Alaska's natural and national heritage, setting the state apart from others with its natural beauty and dedication to preserving public space. It's part of the state's commitment to nature, with more than half of Alaska's square miles are allocated to the public trust. These areas belong to all citizens with the responsibility of maintaining and conserving their ecosystems provided for by the public trust. Once these lands are lost or sold, there is no longer an obligation to manage them in a way that benefits multiple uses for all citizens.

The Tongass National Forest is a treasured asset to the people of Alaska and Americans in general looking to get away in Alaska's natural beauty. Its public lands support commercial, sporting, fishing, tourism, recreation, manufacturing, adventuring and guiding industries that provide thousands of jobs to residents that contribute billions of dollars to the economy. Perhaps just as importantly, they bring an appreciation of the great outdoors and the joy of activity to others through hunting, fishing, foraging, kayaking, hiking, skiing, trekking, and other adventure activities.

Naturally, keeping the Tongass safe and in the hands of the public trust ensures that all its benefits can be reaped by the public. Transferring public lands into private hands damages the resource based economy and cultural heritage of Southeast Alaska. Losing this asset would harm the communities and people who rely on access to its natural resources while also eliminating access to the greater tourism industry. Consequently, transferring management of public lands such as Tongass to private entities hurts their fish and game populations by terminating crucial federal conservation measures and standards. For the beauty, abundance, prosperity, and enjoyment of America's public lands, citizens should strive to uphold their status as lands & “made for you and me.”

Contact: Austin Williams, Trout Unlimited, (907) 227-1590

PRESS KIT AVAILABLE: including b-roll footage, photos and interview footage about the Tongass Land and Resource Management Plan at this link.
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
Important salmon-producing areas threatened in proposed rollback of Tongass National Forest Plan Amendment
New measure by Sen. Murkowski (R-Alaska) would undo public process for conservation measures within country’s largest National Forest
 
JUNEAU, AK – Today, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) included a rider on the Senate Interior and Environment appropriations bill to roll back the Tongass Land and Resource Management Plan (TLMP) and repeal important measures for conserving more than 70 salmon and trout streams within Southeast Alaska’s 17 million acre Tongass National Forest. 

“The Tongass plan amendment is the product of several years of collaboration by Alaskans from across the political spectrum that were able to overcome their differences and form a shared vision for the Tongass based on tourism, fishing and sustainable young-growth forest products,” said Austin Williams, Alaska Legal and Policy Director for Trout Unlimited. “It is disheartening that Senator Murkowski is turning her back to the thousands of Alaskans that support the Tongass plan amendment and threatening to return the region to the conflict and divisiveness of the past. The Tongass plan amendment was created by Alaskans that decided to work together and cooperate so that all could benefit, and should not be cast aside through a closed-door process in Congress.”

The Tongass plan amendment is the culmination of a multi-year, community-supported process in which more than 7,200 Alaskans voiced support for protecting high-value fish and wildlife habitat. It is based on the unanimously-adopted recommendations of the Tongass Advisory Committee (TAC), which was comprised of representatives from the logging industry, the State of Alaska, Alaska Native tribes and corporations, municipal leaders, and conservation organizations convened to move the Tongass National Forest away from the conflict around old-growth logging and work toward sustainable harvest of young-growth timber. 
 
“The Tongass plan amendment is central to ensuring the region’s important fishing and tourism industries continue to thrive and grow into the future,” said Mark Kaelke, Southeast Alaska Program Manager for Trout Unlimited. “We commend the Forest Service for developing a plan amendment that balances the diverse interests at play in the region, and encourage Senator Murkowski to respect the public process, years of dialogue, and compromise that went into this plan by allowing it to remain in effect.”

This bill has not gone through a committee mark up. It will likely be included in the debate over the delayed Congressional decision on how to fund the federal government through the end of the current fiscal year 2018. Trout Unlimited and our salmon conservation allies will be working hard to ensure that it does not become law, along with several other harmful riders that were included in the bill.

The Tongass is the nation’s largest National Forest, producing hundreds of millions of wild salmon each year that support thriving commercial and sport fishing industries. Salmon fishing accounts for 10% of all regional employment and contributes $1 billion annually to the local economy. Visitors from all over the world come to see the Tongass and support a booming travel industry accounting for another 15% of regional employment and another $1 billion in economic activity.
 
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Trout Unlimited is the nation’s oldest and largest coldwater fisheries conservation organization. In Alaska, we work with sportsmen and women to ensure the state’s trout and salmon resources remain healthy far into the future through our local chapters and offices in Anchorage and Juneau. Follow TU’s Tongass efforts on Facebook, and visit us online at tu.org. Learn more about our work to conserve key areas of the Tongass National Forest at www.americansalmonforest.org