HARRISBURG, Pa. - Congress is hearing from opponents of a plan to exempt an Alaskan national forest from protection under the Roadless Rule, the same rule that protects 25,000 acres of national forestland in Pennsylvania.

The U.S. Forest Service is holding hearings in Alaska and Washington, D.C., this week about exempting Alaska's Tongass National Forest from the rule that keeps roads, development and extractive industries out. Mike Dombeck, former chief of the Forest Service, said the national forests are 193 million acres of land that belong to all U.S. citizens.

"The Roadless Rule protects the wildest remaining places on these national forests from road-building and development," he said. "In fact, the goal is to keep the wildest places wild."

The Forest Service said the exemption would allow greater flexibility for timber harvest activities and guidance for the access needs of isolated rural communities. However, Lexi Hackett, a commercial fisher from Sitka, Alaska, suggested that building roads to open up national forests to development ignores the intrinsic value that these areas hold.

"There are economic drivers to keeping the forest healthy and protected, and I would say the primary is fishing, but also tourism," she said. "Tourism would definitely be diminished if there was a lot of unattractive projects put in."

According to the Forest Service, the Allegheny National Forest sees 4 million visitors a year.

Dombeck said he believes that as the world becomes more urbanized, our remaining wild places are of increasing value and need to be protected.

"A recent study by Conservation Science Partners found that we're losing open space in the U.S. at the rate of two football fields every minute," he said.

The public comment period for the proposed Roadless Rule change ends on Dec. 16.

The public-hearing schedule is online at fs.usda.gov, the Roadless Rule is at fs.fed.us, and information on the subcommittee hearing is at naturalresources.house.gov. Information about the Allegheny National Forest is here, and public comments can be made at usda.gov.

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Support for this reporting was provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Hunters and anglers are voicing concerns regarding the possible sale of hundreds of thousands of acres in Nevada and Utah.

U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei, R-NV, and U.S. Rep. Celeste Maloy, R-UT, recently introduced a last-minute provision to the massive budget reconciliation package being considered in Washington - which would allow public lands in both states to be sold to local governments or private entities.

Backers say it could help address the housing shortage and grow industry presence.

But Devin O'Dea, Western Policy & Conservation Manager with Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, said the decision sets a negative precedent.

"This process, this way, and budget reconciliation is not the way to go about this," said O'Dea, "particularly because it circumvents established laws that dictate when public lands are sold, that money goes back into conservation and access through the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act."

O'Dea said the current method will bypass that legislation and direct money straight into the general fund, which he said is concerning.

Amodei says Nevada's vast public lands could jeopardize the state's economic growth and adds the reconciliation process presented a "rare" opportunity to advance land disposal requests.

House Speaker Mike Johnson wants to pass the legislation out of his chamber by Memorial Day.

O'Dea added that because the amendment was introduced at the eleventh hour, there was no time for debate. He called that dangerous for democracy.

"Democracy is founded on having a difference of opinion and discussing it," said O'Dea, "and then voting and moving forward."

Dan Johnson, Nevada public lands manager for Trout Unlimited explained that, while some of these public lands had been previously identified for disposal in locally driven lands bills, they were balanced out with conservation.

He said that is not the case with this proposal.

"When there are threats to our public lands," said Johnson, "we step up, because while we might not all be scientists, there is a connection you build with these lands and you end up learning them through lived experience in a very intimate way."

According to recent polling, a majority of voters in both Nevada and Utah oppose giving up control over national public lands.




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Correction: An earlier version of this story attributed a quote to Rep. Zinke which was made by Alex Blackmer. (5:05 p.m MST., May 12, 2025)

Montana lawmakers this session voted down a bill supporting the transfer of federal public lands to states but a similar conversation is growing on the national stage.

Last year, Utah sued the United States, claiming the state is deprived of "sovereign powers" because the federal government owns public lands there. Rep. Tom Millett, R-Marion, brought a resolution to fellow lawmakers in support of Utah. It failed 66-34 and received no public comments in support.

Alex Blackmer, senior communications manager for the advocacy group Wild Montana, said such efforts point to a larger trend.

"All of this really goes hand-in-hand with what we're seeing at the federal level," Blackmer observed. "Which is this attempt to dismantle regulations, to dismantle the agencies, dismantle all of these things that have been the foundation of our way of life."

In Congress, the House Committee on Natural Resources has passed a Republican budget package including an amendment to authorize the sale of thousands of acres of public land in Nevada and Utah. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., chair of the committee, said the package would "save billions and deliver American energy dominance." Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., called it "breathtakingly reckless."

Also last week, Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., and more than a dozen other lawmakers launched the bipartisan Congressional Public Lands Caucus to help conserve and maintain access to public lands.

Blackmer noted Zinke has been "pretty outspoken" in support of public lands.

"We certainly appreciate any efforts of elected officials to take a stand to keep public lands in public hands," Blackmer acknowledged. "But I think time will tell how that actually shakes out."

Zinke served as U.S. Interior Secretary during the first Trump administration before stepping down amid allegations of misconduct. At a news conference launching the caucus, Zinke said land sales should not be in the federal reconciliation bill.


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The Mississippi River is the drinking water source for 20 million people and its starting point in northern Minnesota has new protections following completion of a deal to preserve several thousand acres of forested land.

The Conservation Fund and Northern Waters Land Trust said the deal, years in the making, covers more 8,200 acres across nine counties between Walker and Duluth.

Emilee Nelson, associate Minnesota state director for The Conservation Fund, said her group purchased a larger chunk of land in 2020 and since then, the Land Trust worked to secure state funding for the acreage in the deal. She pointed out downstream, the river has seen surrounding land converted to other uses, which takes away key buffers.

"The importance of leaving forests on the landscape really helps to soak up water that hits the landscape like a sponge," Nelson explained. "It helps to filter any sort of debris before it hits the Mississippi River."

Separate plans are being finalized with county governments to ensure permanent management and public access to the lands. Nelson emphasized it should benefit hunters and anglers, while protecting wildlife habitat. She added the timing is important with political pressure on the landscapes for possible industrial uses. Rep. Pete Stauber, R-Minn., is part of the push, citing the need for jobs.

Nelson pointed out with such a deal, local timber companies can still benefit from effective forest management, including the need to clear out dying trees.

"When we own it, we would contract with local loggers to help do prescribed thinnings, and to then deliver lumber to local mills, like in Bemidji," Nelson noted.

Organizations involved in the deal said it will protect jobs in the outdoor recreation and tourism sector.