Roadless Rule
Dear Editor: I am a recent college graduate who has moved to Sitka, and during my first few weeks here, I have been stunned by the beauty of the forests surrounding this town. In my home state of Georgia, essentially no untouched forest remains. The many acres of Appalachian second-growth forests are criss-crossed by human infrastructure, which greatly reduces the immersiveness of outdoor experiences. Because of this background, I was amazed to learn that much of the Tongass remains old-growth forest and appreciative to finally be able to experience a forest which has been allowed to remain wild.
However, I was equally amazed to learn about the State of Alaska’s request for the Forest Service to reconsider the Roadless Rule’s application to the Tongass National Forest. Should the Forest Service exempt the Tongass from the Roadless Rule, commercial interests will be allowed to extract the last remaining great old-growth forest on the North American continent. I know I’m not a life-long Alaskan and I’m only just learning the complexities of the community, but I can’t help but imagine the immense loss to Alaska’s culture and economy due to the clearcutting of this incredible natural treasure.
Fortunately, this is not the inevitable outcome. Southeast Alaskans made their voice heard during the Forests Service’s initial public comment period last fall, and overwhelmingly supported keeping the current Roadless Rule. Alaskans asserted that the existing Roadless Rule does not inhibit community economic development, and recognized that keeping the Tongass as an intact ecosystem provides immeasurable value.
To me, the most important reason to not allow a change to the Roadless Rule revolves around the ongoing climate catastrophe. Areas of dense vegetation, like the Tongass, contribute massively to sequestering carbon from the atmosphere. By clearcutting these regions, we reduce the carbon sequestration rate and increase the carbon release rate if the wood is burned. Individually, very few of us can effectively fight against climate change, but residents of the Tongass have a unique opportunity to preserve a large source of carbon sequestration. To do our part to minimize the suffering caused by climate change, we must not allow the Tongass to be logged.
I plan on joining thousands of Alaskans in making my voice heard to the Forest Service during this fall’s comment period on the draft environmental impact statement. The Forest Service must be convinced that allowing development of the Tongass will devastate the local economies based on fisheries and ecotourism, and irreversibly damage our ability to counter the climate crisis. Moreover, the Forest Service should be made well aware that to revoke the Roadless Rule despite public opposition would forever discredit its legitimacy as a steward of the Tongass, and instead it would be viewed as just another regulatory body captured by commercial interests. I encourage everyone who understands the implications of repealing the Roadless Rule to join me in this fight.
Andrew Gallagher, Sitka
