The Alaska Chapter submitted comments to US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack supporting the U.S. Forest Service plan to reinstate the Roadless Area Conservation Rule for the Tongass National Forest in January, 2022.

The Alaska Chapter fully supports reinstating the Roadless Rule protections for
the Tongass National Forest. The Tongass watersheds and the sustainable commercial, recreational,
and subsistence fisheries they maintain represent a critical resource of national and global
importance. Protections under the Roadless Rule will support healthy and intact fish habitat in one
of the most productive salmon fisheries in the world and thus promote the sustainability of this
region. Furthermore, reinstating these protections is increasingly important as the impacts of
climate change accelerate.

Read the full AK AFS comment letter supporting reinstating the Roadless Rule for the Tongass. Also, read the chapter’s 2019 comment letter opposing exempting the Tongass from the Roadless Rule.