U.S. to revisit Alaska rainforest decision

JUNEAU, Alaska -- The federal government announced plans Friday to "repeal or replace" a decision by the Trump administration last fall to lift restrictions on logging and road building in the Tongass National Forest, a southeast Alaska rainforest that provides habitat for wolves, bears and salmon.

Conservationists cheered the announcement as a positive step, but Republican Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy criticized it and vowed to use "every tool available to push back."

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's plans were announced on a federal regulatory site and were described as consistent with a January executive order from President Joe Biden that called for reviewing agency actions during the Trump administration that could be at odds with Biden's environmental priorities. The U.S. Forest Service falls under the Agriculture Department.

The Tongass is the country's largest national forest and in a statement, Matt Herrick, an Agriculture Department spokesperson, said the Trump administration decision "did not align with the overwhelming majority of public opinion across the country and among Alaskans."

"Future decisions about the role of the Tongass National Forest should continue to reflect the best interests of Alaskans and the country as a whole," Herrick said.

The statement did not outline the next steps the Agriculture Department would take to repeal or replace the Trump administration decision.

The Agriculture Department in October decided to exempt the Tongass from the so-called roadless rule, which prohibited road construction and timber harvests with limited exceptions. The roadless rule, dating to 2001, has long been the subject of litigation.

In 2018, Alaska under then-Gov. Bill Walker, an independent, asked the federal government to consider an exemption. Dunleavy supported the request, as have members of Alaska's Republican congressional delegation.

The Biden administration earlier this month suspended oil and gas leases in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, after a January lease sale that drew a tepid response. A law passed by Congress in 2017 called for two lease sales to be held.

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