USDA finalizes exemption for Tongass National Forest

The Department of Agriculture finalized an exemption that will allow timber harvest and road construction in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest yesterday. The area was previously covered under the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, but state officials petitioned the USDA to exempt the forest and allow harvesting and road construction. Proponents of the rule change cite potential economic benefits, while environmental groups were largely critical of the decision.