Roadless Rule

Roadless Rule Tribal Hub

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

From the site:

Federally recognized Tribal governments maintain inherent sovereignty, treaty and reserved rights, and ancestral connections to approximately 44.7 million acres of inventoried roadless areas across 36 states now threatened by the USDA’s proposed rescission of the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. Tribal Nations’ traditional territories, sacred sites, and subsistence resources within these lands predate the existence of the Forest Service itself. The federal government’s failure to conduct prior consultation violates Executive Order 13175, USDA Departmental Regulation 1350-002, and trust responsibilities.This hub provides Tribal governments with a central source of comprehensive resources, template documents, and strategic tools.

Imagine this without the road.

Biden Administration Repeals the 2020 Roadless Rule in the Tongass

Kate Fort

https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2023/01/25/biden-harris-administration-finalizes-protections-tongass-national

Repealing the 2020 Alaska Roadless Rule, which exempted the Tongass from roadless protections, will return the inventoried roadless areas of the forest to management under the 2001 Roadless Rule, which prohibits road construction, reconstruction, and timber harvest in inventoried roadless areas, with limited exceptions. USDA determined that the underlying goals and purposes of the 2001 Roadless Rule continue to be a critical part of conserving the many resources of the Tongass, especially when it comes to the values that roadless areas represent for local, rural communities, Alaska Native peoples, and the economy of Southeast Alaska.

WaPo coverage here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/01/25/tongass-forest-protections-alaska-biden/

“The Tongass Roadless Rule is important to everyone,” said Joel Jackson, president of the Organized Village of Kake, which sits on the forest edge on an island south of the capital, Juneau.

“The old-growth timber is a carbon sink, one of the best in the world,” Jackson said in a statement. “It’s important to OUR WAY OF LIFE — the streams, salmon, deer, and all the forest animals and plants.”

Tribal leaders and Native organizers made a huge push to get these protections back in place. According to the press release, the Administration received more than 112,000 comments during this rulemaking (that is a *lot* of comments), a majority of which were in support of this change.

Op-Ed in Seattle Times on Roadless Rule

Kate Fort

Here.

Likewise, we demand that our politicians and decision-makers respect the voices of indigenous people. Tribes have been asked to engage with the Alaska Roadless Rulemaking process as cooperating agencies, but their input, knowledge and needs have carried little weight in the decision-making process to date. This is unacceptable. The Organized Village of Kake, the Ketchikan Indian Community, the Organized Village of Saxman, the Craig Tribal Association and the Organized Village of Kasaan have all passed resolutions expressing a desire to keep the Roadless Rule in effect on the Tongass.