Alaska'sTongass National Forest once again is "Roadless", with the U.S. 9th Circuit Court overuling a Bush era effort to remove the largest national forest in the USA from the ROADLESS RULE which in 2001 had protected some 60 million acres across the USA from new road building and logging................Covering most of the southeastern section of Alaska, this one of a kind forest harbors wild salmon runs, the Archipelago Wolf and a wide array of other wildlife........It is the opinion of the majority of the court that hunting, fishing, tourism and recreation weigh heavy over logging as it relates to the long term economic prosperity of the region with the ROADLESS RULE an essential instrument to insure optimization of these activities

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9th Circuit Court Reinstates Roadless Rule for Tongass

By MARY KAUFFMAN

July 29, 2015
Wednesday PM

(SitNews) Ketchikan, Alaska - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit struck down a Bush administration exemption of the Tongass National Forest from the “Roadless Rule,” a landmark conservation rule adopted in 2001 to protect nearly 60 million acres of wild national forests and grasslands from new road building and logging. In a 6-5 decision today, the court held the U.S. Forest Service under the Department of Agriculture failed to provide a reasoned explanation for reversing course on the Tongass. It concluded the Roadless Rule “remains in effect and applies to the Tongass.”

This case originated in 2009 when a diverse coalition of Alaska Native, tourism industry, and environmental organizations, represented by attorneys from Earthjustice and Natural Resources Defense Council, challenged the Bush Administration’s 2003 rule “temporarily” exempting the Tongass from the Roadless Rule which would block expensive and controversial new logging roads and clearcuts in intact forests while allowing other economic development — including hydropower, transmission lines, mining, and tourism projects — to proceed.

The Tongass, occupying most of Southeast Alaska, is the nation’s largest national forest. In 2011 a federal judge in Alaska ruled in the coalition’s favor, vacating the Tongass exemption and reinstating the Roadless Rule’s application to the Tongass. The State of Alaska then appealed the decision to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, where a three-judge panel last year reversed the Alaska judge’s opinion by a 2-1 split vote. Today’s order affirmed the district court’s decision and maintains protections for the roadless areas of the Tongass.

Senator Bert Stedman (R-Sitka) said in a prepared statement, “I am disappointed in the decision of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals regarding the Roadless Rule and the impacts it will have on the Tongass National Forest. As I have stated in the past it isolates our communities in the region and does not give us the ability to access our resources for future economic development. The Roadless Rule will continue to hinder our ability to keep up our standard of living by placing restrictions on access and transportation.”

Earthjustice attorney Tom Waldo said, “Today’s decision is great news for the Tongass National Forest and for all those who rely on its roadless areas. The remaining wild and undeveloped parts of the Tongass are important fish and wildlife habitat and vital to residents and visitors alike for hunting, fishing, recreation, and tourism, the driving forces of the regional economy."

“This decision saves the Tongass - again - and not just the Tongass, but hopefully, all old growth forests,” said Niel Lawrence, senior attorney and Alaska director for the Natural Resources Defense Council. “It ensures that all of this forest’s wildlands will be saved from timber sales and destructive logging roads.”

“The decision is consistent with the real transition Southeast Alaska has already made toward a diverse and resilient regional economy,” said SEACC Executive Director Malena Marvin. “We hope that our leaders, including Senator Lisa Murkowski, Governor Bill Walker, and Forest Supervisor Earl Stewart recognize that longterm economic prosperity for local communities means keeping the Tongass’s wild salmon strongholds working for fishing families, and supporting our booming tourism and fishing industries.”

“We applaud the court for striking down the misguided Bush-era plan to exempt the Tongass National Forest from the Roadless Rule. Today's decision ensures that this stunning wilderness will continue to be protected for the wildlife who inhabit it and those who enjoy it — for this generation and those that follow,” said Aaron Isherwood, Managing Attorney for the Sierra Club.

“The roadless areas on the Tongass are important habitat for wildlife species found only in America's rainforest,” said Rebecca Noblin, Alaska director of the Center for Biological Diversity. “This decision protects some of the last remaining stands of old-growth temperate rainforest in the world. Now it’s time to put a stop to all old-growth logging on the Tongass to save unique wildlife like Alexander Archipelago wolves.”

“The Tongass’ roadless rainforests are a national treasure, and the last, best intact wildlands in our bioregion,” said Gabriel Scott, Alaska legal director for Cascadia Wildlands. “We are pleased with the court’s decision, and urge the State of Alaska to stop with these wasteful legal battles and recognize that it is a privilege, not a burden, to conserve these national treasures for future generations.”

“Roadless areas in the Tongass provide important habitat for at-risk species, including the Alexander Archipelago wolf,” said Senior Policy Advisor for Federal Lands Peter Nelson at Defenders of Wildlife. “Today's decision is a pivotal win for the conservation of wildlife, watersheds and forests in the Tongass.”

“The roadless rule will help small businesses like ours,” said Hunter McIntosh of The Boat Company, which operates a small tour business in the region. “The natural values of intact watersheds are essential for the visitor industry in Southeast Alaska. Very few folks will pay to go see clearcuts and decaying logging roads. There are thousands of jobs in Southeast Alaska in recreation and tourism. And there are thousands more in the seafood industry, which depends critically on salmon spawning streams in the old growth forests of the Tongass.”

Attorneys from Earthjustice and the Natural Resources Defense Council represent the following groups in the case: Organized Village of Kake, The Boat Company, Alaska Wilderness Recreation and Tourism Association, Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, Natural Resources Defense Council, Tongass Conservation Society, Greenpeace, Wrangell Resource Council, Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, Cascadia Wildlands, and Sierra Club.

On the Web:

07/29/15 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT OPINION
http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2015/07/29/11-35517.pdf