Feds move ahead with plan to block Alaska forest logging

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The federal government say it’s beginning the process of repealing a Trump-era rule that permitted road-building and logging harvesting in an enormous southeast Alaska rainforest. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Thursday that a proposed measure to repeal last year’s rule will be published for public comment next week, beginning a 60-day process. The previous rule exempted more than 9 million acres in the Tongass National Forest from a 2001 rule that banned road construction, reconstruction and timber harvesting in roadless areas. Conservationists applauded the Biden administration move, saying it will protect wildlife, the environment and local economies. Alaskan lawmakers want the exemption to remain.