(LibertySociety.com) – In 2001, former President Bill Clinton enacted a roadless rule to protect national forests in Alaska and throughout the west. The Trump administration removed the practice in late 2020 to make timber available for harvest in the Tongass National Forest at the request of Governor Mike Dunleavy (R-AK). Now, President Joe Biden plans to reinstate the roadless rule to save ancient trees from destruction, but Alaska’s leader said the move would hurt the logging industry and the state’s economy.
@JoeBiden wants to reinstate the ban on roads in about half of Alaska’s Tongass National Forest that some state leaders say will hurt economic growth. Joe Biden is all for anything that hurts the economy! https://t.co/8azy8RUv63
— Bruce Clark (@RealBruceClark) November 19, 2021
Alaskan Native leaders and environmentalists support the move, saying the preservation will help The Last Frontier over the long term. Indigenous people use the old-growth trees to harvest food and medicine from the earth and teach younger generations to do the same.
Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK), upset about what he perceives as an attack on Alaska, believes the Biden administration is catering to extreme leftist ideologies. Many feel the reversal will negatively impact job availability at a time when the area is still recovering its economy from the pandemic. Opponents to the rule want the Biden administration to back off and let local communities connect with roadways if they choose, without using the federal government to overreach into state issues.
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