According to an article in Scientific American published Oct. 22, experts dispute the Trump administration’s rationale for opening up the Tongass National Forest to new road construction and increased logging.
Climate models show Alaska warming faster than the rest of the country — the changes are already visible — but the Tongass is poised to fare better than its surrounding landscapes, making it a lone oasis for wildlife. But destroying habitat by logging and fragmentation with roads undermines that option. This is in addition to the destruction of an important carbon sink whose loss would only worsen climate change.
I call upon Sen. Lisa Murkowski to protect the Tongass and not allow additional roads or logging there.
— Andrew Gray
Anchorage
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