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Obama administration green lights logging in Tongass National Forest
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack gave his personal approval for a 381-acre clear-cut in America's largest stand of temperate rain forest.
Thu, Jul 16 2009 at 12:43 PM
 16

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Forests & Trees, Obama, Economics

Photo: Mark C Brennan/Flickr

Not cool, President Obama. Not cool at all.
 
The Obama administration has approved the sale of timber from the Tongass National Forest in Alaska. The 17-million acre forest is the largest stand of continuous temperate rain forest in the U.S. and contains a lot of old-growth trees. It's basically a snapshot of what the world looked like before we rolled heavy onto the scene.
 
The U.S. Forest Service gave the green light for the sale after approval from Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack who stated in May that he would be the final gatekeeper on all decisions to sell timber from roadless ares of the national forests.
 
This first sale will come after seven miles of roads are built for the 381-acre clear-cut. This makes Hulk mad. Vilsack said that the main reason he approved the sale was to provide jobs to the area. Here's a radical idea -- those loggers should get new jobs not involving cutting down old-growth trees.
 
Jobs should not trump mountains, nor should they trump the last great stand of old-growth temperate rain forest left in this great nation of ours. Instead of spending the millions of dollars the federal government intends to pour into road construction to clear cut the area, how about giving the loggers job buyouts so they can find a new career with some scratch in their pockets?
 
You can donate money to the NRDC to help the fight to keep Tongass safe if you want to get active with your pocketbook.
 
 
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Comments: 16
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anonymous
Enter your name Nov 18 2011 at 4:59 PM

I would rather have the taxes that I pay go towards something with an end result than to pay for people to be on welfare. your points are ridiculous

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anonymous
Guest Jul 20 2010 at 9:26 PM
Did I not read something right? I believe the plan is to cut down 381 acres of a 17,000,000 acre tract of forest land. You would not even be able to notice the difference after replanting. I am in the logging industry and most of this gov't approved cutting is for gov't projects. As for the people who say loggers are stupid or dumb, take a look around at your nice office or your overpriced home and realize just how many things come from wood. I'll help you, from parts in every appliance, to the furniture,
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the walls, flooring, hell even some food products have a form of wood pulp in them, and the next time you use toilet paper to wipe after going to the restroom then be glad for logging because every peice of paper recycled or not comes from wood. Also many clothes have strands of wood fiber bound with cotton to make them last longer and hold up to washing and drying. But im just another idiot retard logger what do I know.So yeah stop buying wood products just don't ask me to shake your hand.
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anonymous
mark Jay C. Fairall Mar 13 2010 at 7:46 PM
Enter your comments here There is no reason to use wood anymore PERIOD! Obama stands for "ONE BIG ASS MISTAKE AMERICA"! Stripping old growth forest for some uneducated jackasses because they are too stupid to learn how to file for unemployment "IS" ONE BIG ASS MISTAKE! WE have the technology to replace any thing that is made with "WOOD"! Telephone poles, Framing for housing,furniture,hockey sticks, on and on,etc...etc....I've seen how stupid those "loggers" are on the History Channel and it shows
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clearly they are as stupid,as it gets. The majority seem semi-retarded like "TOMASS VILSACKOFSHIT" who obama "ONE BIG ASS MISTAKE AMERICA" put in charge! When semi-retarded people vote to "KILL" "UNBORNS" and then kill our National Forest it's time to really "REVOLT"! Not everyone up there is retarded, 1 cup of anti-freeze under the old oil cap will bring the biggest diesel motor to a complete halt and then it will have to be completely rebuilt which I know they are too stupid to figure out. WAKE UP AMERICA BEFORE IT'S GONE!!!!
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anonymous
Guest Nov 18 2011 at 4:50 PM

Do you realize how much more harmful it is to the environment to mine what it takes to replace wood? Sure loggers may not be the most educated people in America, but i'd like to see how long you would last in a log yard. Do you really think that the solution to logging is destroying other peoples property?

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anonymous
Guest Mar 28 2010 at 11:41 PM

ya, the toxic byproducts created in the manufacturing process in creating these "wood" replacers is much better for the earth then harvesting something that will regrow.

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anonymous
Guest Jul 27 2009 at 4:56 PM
There is often a lot of talk from politicians about pork spending, especially Republicans (though it's usually for not spending on what they want – but it isn't like Democrats aren't the same way) but it has hit a new low, with Clougherty Packing LLC. Clougherty Packing LLC is a meat packing company that prepares processed ham products, and they got just a shade over $5 million in stimulus money – that's some pork barrel spending, literally! That's some big unsecured loans for ham. Obama had
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pledged to fight earmarks and other wasteful spending, but it seems he's gone completely the other way.
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anonymous
The Jason Jul 20 2009 at 3:20 PM

...WORSE than the old boss.

Am I the only person not surprised? Obama surely received something from the logging industry to approve this mistake. Even BUSH didn't approve this sort of thing.

Here's the real 'change' Obama talked about. Enjoy.

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anonymous
Guest Jul 20 2009 at 1:21 PM
I lived in southeast for four years and have sailed the entire inside passage. If there is one thing I learned during my time in in Southeast is that logging is king, at least it used to be. Many of the cuts I have seen are fifty years old or older and look as though they where cut last week. The temperate forest of Tongass is not as resilient as its southern cousin. Sure replanting helps but you can't replace an old growth forest which, is prime habitat for many of the species in the Tongass
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including bear and deer. We also have to consider that over half of the Tongass is rock and ice. So the .002 number is actually more significant than some might think. Bottom line is to much of the Tongass old growth has been cut and we should not sit idly while more is taken. People need jobs, loggers need jobs, we need wood, so we thin out the second growth and kill a few birds with one stone.
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anonymous
VJ Jul 19 2009 at 11:26 PM
It's called "balance" people. Get a clue. Learn the facts about the Tongass before you go crying to Mama Earth. Mama is responsible herself for the loss of thousands of acres of forestland every year to disease, windblow, and other natural causes. The key is to learn how to find a good balance. Maybe you should try living in a village in Southeast Alaska, where rural Alaska Native unemployment is as high as 90 percent. Cutting small parcels of trees provides jobs, and allows these folks to
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feed their kids and heat their homes. The trees will not be replanted. They grow back naturally in Southeast Alaska, where over the last 100 years, about 4 percent of the land has been cut for timber. I would note, that tearing down the Tongass was indeed the MO in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. It no longer is - cutting is down by 95%. That's good. But the Tongass is the size of West Virginia. It can handle a cut here and there. Perhaps you folks think that tourism is a "clean" alternative to timber and fishing? Maybe you've traveled by boat to beautiful Southeast Alaska? You need to do your research... find out what those tour boats mean for water quality, air quality, whales and other marine mammals, and year-round local employment. The bottom line, of course, is that we need fewer people and a less materialistic culture. It seems that we also need to educate our "environmentalists". Believe it or not, I'm a naturalist, employed in the Tongass. And I am very very offended.
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anonymous
cuttinspam Jul 16 2009 at 10:05 PM

So to keep these loggers in business, we have to cut down acreage, which attracts more loggers, who need more acreage to cut, which attracts more loggers..... I voted for Obama, but I wont make that mistake again. Kucinich... I dont care anymore if he wins or not.

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anonymous
Snuhwolf Jul 16 2009 at 5:54 PM

This will just add to the backlog of wood-based resource already cut and laying around in lumber mills, unsold. The housing industry is bust and wont be needing this wood for years. Yet again Obama betrays the NetRoots who elected him.

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anonymous
Guest Jul 16 2009 at 4:02 PM

I have traveled all over the world and have actually been to the Tongass National Forest. It was by far one of the most beautiful and peaceful places I have ever been. It saddens me that the reason we are willing to cut down a piece of this beautiful part of the country (.002 percent or not) is for jobs that could be created through other means. Allowing such destruction contributes to climate change and creates a precedence for similar decisions.

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anonymous
Guest Jul 16 2009 at 2:54 PM

It is unfortunate this story is riddled with rhetoric not based on facts. I am willing to bet that picture isn't even from the 381 acres, and the timber being harvested is not "old-growth." In fact, 381 acres only represents .002 percent of the Tongass Forest. And, guess what, the plan calls for replanting.

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anonymous
signifier Jul 17 2009 at 5:20 AM
Old growth tends to be favored by logging companies because the trees are large and present the biggest bang for the buck. Replanting generally encourages more logging because the trees are planted for the purposes of future logging, usually in straight rows that are maintained to allow easy access. Also, it is important to remember that replanted trees do not make a forest. Forests are highly diverse, comprising many species. Typical forestry practice involves monoculture replanting techniques that
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can harm outlying areas since monocultures are more susceptible to disease. This policy is the thin edge of the wedge, and will provide cover for other nations who are under pressure to stop, or slow down, their old growth clearing policies. This is particularly relevent in places like Russia and South America where old growth forests are under intense and continual pressure. A very bad idea all around. But unfortunately, common practice and certainly not "change we can believe in".
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anonymous
Guest Jul 16 2009 at 2:27 PM

I wish people were more adamant to organize movements and campaigns against stuff like this.

I believe Obama is malleable in his policies. If people are vocal enough about their opinions, he will relent. Not to sound cheesy and unrealistic, but people need to "rise up" and not take "no" for an answer. The president isn't going to organize for us, after all. We have to pressure him to do it.

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anonymous
Guest Jul 30 2009 at 8:35 PM

There is a good way to stop this and that is to bring the hear on the people that Obama put in place. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack can put the Roadless Rule into place and protect wild forests in the Tongass. Send him an e-mail at Tom.Vilsack@usda.gov and says "STOP logging the wild Tongass Forest!"

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