On Thursday, August 2, 2018 the U.S. Forest Service announced that it signed a memorandum of understanding with the State of Alaska to develop a state-specific roadless rule in Alaska.
The 2001 Roadless Rule applies throughout the United States to prohibit road construction, reconstruction, and timber harvesting on certain National Forest System lands. Currently, in Alaska, 67 percent of National Forest System lands are categorized as roadless areas, and an additional 26 percent are designated Wilderness, where road construction is also prohibited.
In January 2018, the State of Alaska petitioned the Forest Service for a full exemption from the 2001 Roadless Rule. In April 2018, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue accepted the petition, with the decision to pursue a state-specific roadless rule in Alaska. An Alaska-specific roadless rule would alter the management designation of some Alaska roadless areas in order to further the state's economic development. National Forest System lands in Alaska that are designated Wilderness would be unaffected by this rulemaking.
In signing the memorandum, Secretary Perdue stated that, "[w]e will continue to work with the people of Alaska, the state government, industry, tribes and Alaska native corporations to maintain the health and vibrancy of our National Forests," and that "[t]he national forests in Alaska should be working forests for all industries."
Governor Bill Walker of Alaska commented that, "[t]he State of Alaska is ready to begin this work. I am confident that state and federal officials will be responsive to input from local residents every step of the way and that together we will account for the diverse needs of people who live, work, and recreate in the forest."
In developing the roadless rule, the Forest Service will work closely with the state, as it did with Idaho and Colorado to develop their state-specific roadless rules (enacted in 2008 and 2012, respectively). The preparation process will involve National Environmental Policy Act environmental review and disclosures, gathering public feedback, conducting public outreach, and consultation with Alaskan Tribes and Native Corporations.
The Forest Service has indicated that it will provide opportunities for public participation and comments, as it did in developing the Colorado and Idaho rules. According to the Forest Service, the first opportunity will come in late summer or early fall 2018 with the publication in the Federal Register of a notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement, triggering a 45-day scoping and public comment period. The Forest Service stated that it plans to publish a draft environmental impact statement during the summer of 2019, which will provide an additional opportunity for interested parties to file comments before publication of the final Environmental Impact Statement and, ultimately, a final rule in mid-2020.
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