A CALL TO ACTION: 115th Congressional Assault on The Tongass National Forest
Reprinted with permission from Hunter H. McIntosh, President, The Boat Company
We are living in a time of unprecedented attacks on both public lands and
waters, and the agencies that protect them. Without action on the part of
all Americans, Republican and Democrat, we stand to lose much of the conservation legacy that has been achieved over the 38 years since The Boat
Company was created, not just in Southeast Alaska, but everywhere. And it
is no coincidence that this legislation is all coming out rapid fire – the flood
of new legislation, not seen in six years, is designed to make it more difficult to meaningfully respond to or organize around any one proposed law.
We know how overwhelming it can be to process and keep up with the
assault by the 115th Congress on our public lands and waters. Below you can find
ongoing updates on proposed legislation that would impact our environment in
Southeast so that you, our other guests,
can stay informed and that we can work
together to take-action.
TONGASS LAND-GIVEAWAY BILLS
H.R. 232 – State National Forest
Management Act of 2017 - This bill,
sponsored by Alaska Congressman Don
Young, would move 2 million acres of
National Forest lands to state forest
in all states, including Alaska’s Tongass
National Forest. This could mean that
some states could see all of their National
Forests transferred to poorly funded and
understaffed state forests.
H.R. 229 – Unrecognized Southeast
Alaska Native Communities Recognition
and Compensation Act – Introduced by
Congressman Young, this bill would amend
the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to
allow Native communities in the towns of
Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee and
Wrangell to organize as urban corporations
and select up to a total of 115,000 acres
of land from the Tongass National Forest,
including selecting those lands previously
designated by Congress for perpetual protection
as legislated Land Use Designation II (LUD II) Management Areas, which were
previously protected in order to ensure they retain their roadless nature and wildland
characteristics.
H.R. 513 and S. 131 - Alaska Mental Health Trust Land Exchange Act of 2017 –Alaska’s
Congressman Young and Senator Lisa Murkowski sponsored these identical bills to fasttrack
an exchange of Alaska Mental Health Trust lands with substantial public safety concerns
and high community use values for productive timberlands on the Tongass National
Forest. This approach ignores the need for informed public engagement from affected
communities. These bills were introduced before the exchange between the Forest
Service and the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority was finalized and seek to fast-track
the land swap. The bill does not address the fundamental problem that clearcutting
Southeast Alaska’s old-growth forests to generate revenue for Alaska’s mental health
beneficiaries is an outdated model for revenue generation.
115TH CONGRESS’S TACTICS TO CIRCUMVENT PUBLIC SCRUTINY
This Congress is avoiding public comment on their legislative giveaways by using a
relatively obscure rule-making process called joint resolutions. A joint resolution is often
used in the same manner as a bill. Once a joint resolution passes both the House and
Senate in identical form and is signed by the President, it becomes law. Joint resolutions
are also used to propose amendments to the Constitution.
In an obvious double standard, the majority in the 115th Congress are short-circuiting
their own rules to pass new laws that favor shortsighted corporate interests. Several new
bills demand the use of cost-benefit accounting in implementing regulations. Meanwhile,
the 115th Congress has stripped the Congressional Budget Office of its ability to assess
the real costs of the proposed legislation.
Click Here to read the H.R.232 bill in its entirety, followed by all of the phone
numbers for Congress. We urge you to help us take efforts to protect these areas.
H.R. 232 and Southeast Alaska
In 2012, without public disclosure or involvement, the industry-heavy Alaska Timber
Jobs Task Force identified a preliminary list of possible State Forest selections from
the Tongass National Forest for clearcutting. These lands have long been important to
Alaskans and Nature-based Tourism for hunting, fishing, recreating, and making a living.
As a federally managed forest, the U.S. Forest Service must manage for balanced
multiple-use, including outdoor recreation, hunting, and fishing. Under H.R. 232, states
must manage acquired lands “primarily for timber production.” Such a timber-first
approach to forest management will cost the state millions and harm the thriving
sectors of Southeast’s economy, tourism and fishing. In this era of $3 billion state
deficits, Alaska needs to invest in education, public safety, and other critical state
programs and not in a money-losing timber program.
A National Treasure
The Tongass National Forest is a national treasure; home to the largest intact
temperate old growth rainforests left on earth, world-class salmon runs, and thriving
fishing and tourism industries. Each year these industries bring in over $2 billion to the
region. With both industries reliant upon a healthy forest, the impact of clear-cut logging
on the economy would be disastrous.
The remaining old-growth stands on the Tongass provide critical habitat for Sitka
black-tailed deer, coastal brown bear, Alexander Archipelago wolves, and goshawks.
One of the most productive fisheries in the world, the Tongass is home to all five
species of wild Pacific salmon that spawn in the 13,000 miles of rivers that course
through the forest. Vast tracts of old-growth forests and a cool maritime climate
combine to make the Tongass a globally significant carbon storage reserve, storing ten
times more carbon than the next largest National Forest.
Under H.R. 232 the public is given no opportunity to influence or have a say over
which lands the state selects. These are your lands, the lands of the people but will not
be governed by the people. Now is the time for you to have your say.
Click Here to read that we have listed every member of congress. Please call your
member and tell him/her to protect our National Forests, our economy, and the
Tongass National Forest. We also encourage you to call Congressman Don Young
and Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan of Alaska and let them know that the
Tongass is valuable and should be left alone and not cut.
