Tweet“Today’s preliminary ruling is a victory for wildlife and proper management of our nation’s irreplaceable forests. Moving forward with this initial sale would have ignited 15 years of clearcutting that would further destroy and fragment the remaining ancient forest habitat on Prince of Wales Island. Thanks to laws requiring protections for wildlife, species like wolves, goshawks, salmon and bears get a reprieve for now,” said Patrick Lavin, Alaska Policy Advisor, Defenders of Wildlife.
Today a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction that halts, for now, the initial phase of the largest timber sale approved by the U.S. Forest Service in 30 years. The USFS has targeted Prince of Wales Island, a part of Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, with a 15-year plan to log more than 42,500 acres of temperate rainforest and construct 164 miles of new roads through public lands. Most of the trees targeted for logging are old-growth, and may have sprouted as saplings many centuries ago.
USFS authorized this massive logging project without disclosing which specific locations would be targeted or what impacts logging would have there, prompting Earthjustice to file a lawsuit on behalf of several organizations in May 2019 challenging the Prince of Wales project. The Plaintiffs are Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, Alaska Rainforest Defenders, Alaska Wilderness League, National Audubon Society, Defenders of Wildlife, Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club, and Natural Resources Defense Council.
Today’s ruling, by a federal district judge in Alaska, grants a preliminary injunction blocking an initial sale that would have auctioned off 1,156 acres of old-growth trees. More than 10 miles of new roads would have been constructed along with this sale. If not for this court decision, USFS would have opened timber industry bids on these ancient stands of trees on September 24. Next, the judge is expected to issue a final ruling on the merits of the case no later than March 31, before the next logging season starts.
Background
The area targeted for clearcutting is one of the largest islands in America and home to 12 communities who use it for hunting, fishing, recreation, and a way of life tied to fish, wildlife, and forests. The island also attracts visitors who travel to Southeast Alaska from around the world to experience the Tongass National Forest. Prince of Wales’ irreplaceable old-growth stands provide key habitat for wildlife, including Alexander Archipelago wolves, Sitka black-tailed deer and Queen Charlotte goshawks. Extensive past clearcuts, however, have destroyed and fragmented important parts of this habitat, leading to struggling wolf populations and restrictions on deer hunting.
The areas slated for logging are not roadless areas protected by the federal Roadless Rule – a long-standing policy that restricts logging and roads, which President Trump and his administration are now seeking to undo in Alaska. Eliminating the Roadless Rule protections on the Tongass would pave the way for more clearcutting on the forest in the future.
For over 75 years, Defenders of Wildlife has remained dedicated to protecting all native animals and plants in their natural communities. With a nationwide network of nearly 2.1 million members and activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife for generations to come. To learn more, please visit https://defenders.org/newsroom or follow us on X @Defenders.
