Tongass National Forest plan revision opens for public input this week
- Jasz Garrett
- 15 hours ago
- 3 min read
By Jasz Garrett
Juneau Independent
A plan to revise the Tongass National Forest Land and Resource Management plan, with a new emphasis on timber and other resource industries as mandated by President Donald Trump, is set to begin a 30-day public comment period Wednesday.
The U.S. Forest Service is scheduled to publish a notice of intent that day in the Federal Register regarding the Tongass National Forest management plan. The plan adopted in 1979 for the 16.7-million-acre forest has been revised three times since, most recently in 2016, and the agency hopes to publish a new draft plan by this fall.
A press release issued by the Forest Service on Tuesday spells out the past and new parameters that will be considered in the revised draft.
“Public comments will help identify changes that are needed to the current plan, adopted in 1997, to align with best available science, as well as laws and regulations, including Presidents Trump’s Executive Order 14225 – Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production to support American economies and improve forest health and Executive Order 14153 Unleash Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential, benefitting the Nation and the American citizens who call Alaska home.”
The agency is also preparing a draft environmental impact statement it hopes to publish this fall, according to the release. A 90-day comment period will follow the publication of the draft plan and environmental impact statement, according to the Forest Service.
“We’re taking another step forward in the process to modernize the Tongass National Forest plan by prioritizing long-term regional prosperity, adapting to 25 years of economic and ecological changes, and improving clarity of direction within the plan,” said Tongass National Forest Supervisor Monique Nelson in a prepared statement. “This is another opportunity to work collaboratively with tribes, communities, partners, and the public to ensure the revised plan meets the needs and values of the public we serve.”
Comments can be submitted online, as well as hardcopy letters to the following address: Tongass National Forest, U.S. Forest Service, 648 Mission St., Suite 110, Federal Building, Ketchikan, AK, 99901. Alaska residents submitting hand-delivered comments can call (907) 519-8035 to make arrangements.
Comments will be used to update the final revised plan and environmental impact statement, which are expected to be available during May 2027.
The notice of intent states dates are subject to changes in the project schedule. It also acknowledges the ongoing effort to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. The Forest Service released a notice of intent for the proposed nationwide rescission of the Roadless Rule on Aug. 29, 2025. The Tongass National Forest, the largest national forest in the country, includes approximately 80% of the Southeast Alaska panhandle.
If the Roadless Rule is rescinded, it would remove prohibitions on road construction, road reconstruction and timber harvesting on 9.3 million acres of land currently identified as inventoried roadless areas in the Tongass. The environmental impact statement for the revised Tongass National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan will analyze one or more alternatives that do not include inventoried roadless area designations to consider a future where the Roadless Rule is rescinded.
The notice filed Tuesday also states the 2016 forest plan amendment, which updated direction on young-growth timber harvest, renewable energy, and transportation system corridors, causes “overlapping and sometimes confusing or conflicting direction” in the current forest plan. It says clarity needs to be improved around these amendments so that a project’s consistency with the applicable plan components can be easily determined.
• Contact Jasz Garrett at jasz@juneauindependent.com or (907) 723-9356.
