The Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assembly on Tuesday narrowly voted to commit resources to an ongoing lawsuit to keep the Tongass National Forest exempt from the 2001 federal Roadless Rule, a move that will put the borough at odds with local Alaska Native entities that are opposing the exemption.
The December case, filed by the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, the Organized Village of Saxman, Ketchikan Indian Community and 19 other entities, alleges that federal agencies failed to follow procedures required by the Alaska National Interests Land Conservation Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.
Borough Attorney Glenn Brown during the meeting described the December case as another instance of litigation over the Roadless Rule and the Tongass National Forest, using the term âprocedural swashbucklingâ to characterize the ongoing legal disputes over the land.