Big news for big trees? The Biden Administration has released draft plans for old-growth protections in our National Forests. What does that mean for the Tongass? Well, it’ll take some deep reading to know for sure, but you know we’re up to the challenge. Meanwhile, stretch those typing fingers because the comment period starts tomorrow, June 21, and lasts for 90 days.
The National Old Growth Amendment and the Tongass
The National Old Growth Amendment is described by the United States Department of Agriculture as “a first-of-its-kind proposal to amend all 128 forest land management plans” to conserve old-growth forest conditions in response to climate change — unfortunately, the December 2023 Notice of Intent for the Biden Administration’s amendment allowed for exceptions to the standards prohibiting the harvest of old-growth trees for economic purposes, which meant commercial logging was still on the table for the Tongass National Forest. The just-released Draft Environmental Impact Statement has dropped the explicit exception in its proposed alternative but it adds in new language that still allows some logging — we’re still trying to determine if it’s protective enough.
The proposed action in the Notice of Intent allowed for exceptions to key standards to allow for implementation of the Southeast Alaska Sustainability Strategy. Despite its goal of moving away from large-scale old-growth logging, SASS still includes “an average of 5 million board feet of old-growth timber volume awarded annually through small and micro sales.” It’s an allowance even a number of conservation groups could get on board with because of the beneficial recreation and restoration projects also included.
Our big concern with the exception was SASS isn’t durable and can be changed administratively without public process. The DEIS doesn’t single out SASS but it does essentially say the spirit of the exception lives on in some additions to remaining standards.
“In (2c)iii., added “valid existing rights for mineral and energy resources, or authorizations of occupancy and use made prior to the old-growth amendment decision”;
In (2c)iv., added “as informed by tribes or for de minimis use for local community purposes,” …;”
Digging into the Draft EIS
The good news is the DEIS includes in its clarifying remarks some explicit mention of old-growth harvest “for small sales for local mills, music wood, and culturally significant uses like totem poles.”
But those examples aren’t exactly an exhaustive list and we don’t really know what else falls under ‘de minimis use,’ for example.
So you know what we’ll be using all this peak summer daylight for — lots of reading.
Support for old-growth protections
We know there’s strong support for protecting old-growth in the Tongass. We’ve been talking to supporters, Tribes, municipalities and businesses about the right approach. You can feel confident that SEACC will stand up for the right management priorities for Southeast Alaska communities. And we hope you’ll let us keep you informed and stand by us when it’s time to submit comments.
Now, with that deadline just 90 days away, we’ll get back to our reading so we can get back to you with the important details ASAP.
