Tongass National Forest plan revision opens for public comment

Published 2:07 pm Monday, February 23, 2026

The U.S. Department of Agriculture intends to revise the Land Management Plan of the Tongass National Forest, according to a notice of intent released on Feb 18. The 30-day public comment period for the plan revisions began on Feb 18.

The USDA highlighted timber production and resource extraction as motivations for the revision.

“There is a need to consider current and possible future economic drivers to ensure that the Tongass National Forest will provide adequate access to resources for development,” the notice states in a section on prioritizing “local and regional prosperity.”

The notice then mentions Executive Orders 14153, “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential,” and 14225, “Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production.”

E.O. 14153 specifies that unleashing Alaska’s resource potential “requires an immediate end to the assault on Alaska’s sovereignty and its ability to responsibly develop these resources for the benefit of the Nation.”

Executive Director of Southeast Alaska Conservation Council Melissa Lewis acknowledged the importance of a revision to the Tongass Forest Plan, but emphasized the significance of public process in a statement to the Empire.

“If public process is treated as a mere formality, we’ll be degrading not only our home,” Lewis said. “We’ll be further eroding trust in the federal government and the concept of government by the people.”

The USDA also identified tourism, subsistence and indigenous land stewardship as reasons to revise the current Tongass Forest Plan.