Press Releases

LCV Statement on Restoring Roadless Protections in Tongass National Forest

Nov 19, 2021

Courtnee Connon, 727-744-4163, courtnee_connon@lcv.org

Washington, D.C. — In response to the news that the Biden Administration will soon take steps to restore the road construction ban on much of the Tongass National Forest, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) issued the following statement from Senior Government Affairs Advocate Ben Alexandro:

“We applaud the Biden administration’s announcement to restore protections to 9.3 million acres of Alaska’s Tongass National Forest that were stripped away by the previous administration. This national treasure is not only a beautiful epicenter for Alaska’s tourism, fishing, and recreation economies, but  also one of the world’s only remaining intact temperate rainforests home to rare and endangered wildlife  and within the traditional homelands of the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian peoples and is of paramount importance to local tribes’ way of life. 

The clear-cutting and destruction to this unique ecosystem that would have been caused by the previous administration’s 2020 rule would have been felt for centuries. Protecting and restricting development on the Tongass National Forest is an essential step in our fight against the climate crisis, protecting Alaska’s communities and long term economy, and fulfilling Biden’s commitments to protect 30% of our nation’s land and waters by 2030. We look forward to the release of the proposed rule early next week and working with the Biden administration to reinstate these crucial protections.”

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