The Biden administration is ending large-scale, old-growth timber sales on the nation’s largest national forest and will instead focus on forest restoration, recreation and other non-commercial usesWASHINGTON -- The Biden administration said Thursday it is ending large-scale, old-growth timber sales on the nation's largest national forest — the Tongass National Forest in Alaska — and will instead focus on forest restoration, recreation and other non-commercial uses. The announcement by the U.S. Forest Service reverses a Trump administration decision to lift restrictions on logging and road-building in the southeast Alaska rainforest, which provides habitat for wolves, bears and salmon. The Agriculture Department, which includes the Forest Service, also said it will take steps to restore the so-called Roadless Rule for the Tongass. The 2001 rule prohibits road construction and timber harvests with limited exceptions on nearly one-third of national forest land. In an action that angered environmentalists, the Biden administration has defended a Trump-era decision to approve a major oil project on Alaska’s North Slope that Alaska political leaders have supported.

Source: ABC News July 15, 2021 16:30 UTC