Comments Off on Biden Protects World’s Largest Coastal Temperate Rainforest
WASHINGTON, DC, July 19, 2021 (ENS) – Across the entire 16.7 million acres of the Tongass National Forest in southeast Alaska, full Roadless Rule protections are being restored and there will be an end to large-scale old-growth timber sales, the Biden administration’s Department of Agriculture, USDA, announced on Thursday.
The Tongass National Forest is the world’s largest remaining intact coastal temperate rainforest and the country’s largest forest, too, with some of the oldest trees in the United States, some more than 800 years old.
“We look forward to meaningful consultation with Tribal governments and Alaska Native corporations, and engaging with local communities, partners, and the State to prioritize management and investments in the region that reflect a holistic approach to the diverse values present in the region,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announcing the new policy.
Biden ends Trump plan to log giant Alaska rainforest dubbed the lungs of North America independent.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from independent.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Earthjustice and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) filed the lawsuit (pdf) in the U.S. District Court in Alaska on behalf of regional tribes, businesses, and conservation groups. The complaint notes that the largest national forest, located in Southeast Alaska, “is central to the life ways of the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian people who have lived in and depended on the forest since time immemorial.”
The U.S. Forest Service’s move to exempt the forest from the Roadless Rule, finalized just days before President Donald Trump lost reelection to President-elect Joe Biden, would open up more than nine million acres of the Tongass with its centuries-old trees that provide crucial carbon sequestration to logging and roadbuilding.