The Trump administration is pushing to revive a controversial timber project in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, testing the Forest Service’s commitment to move away from old‑growth logging and reigniting debate over the future of Roadless Rule protections in America’s largest national forest.
Wood Central understands that new planning documents released show the South Revilla Integrated Resource Management Project would authorise the harvest of 4,343 acres of old‑growth forest over 15 years, along with 1,037 acres of young‑growth stands previously logged in earlier decades with the Forest Service’s preferred alternative yielding up to 83 million board feet of timber, making it one of the largest old‑growth sales advanced in the Tongass in recent years.
In its final environmental impact statement, the agency evaluated four alternatives, including a no‑action option, before selecting the proposal with the highest timber volume and the strongest emphasis on old‑growth harvest. It also signalled a shift toward conventional ground‑based logging rather than helicopter extraction to reduce operational costs.
“This project was designed to provide viable timber for local operators, increase economic opportunity in Southeast Alaska, develop recreation facilities and trails, and restore fish and wildlife habitat,” said Tongass National Forest Supervisor Monique Nelson, who spoke about the plan over the weekend. “Through a collaborative and integrated management approach, we focus on several aspects of active management to create productive and resilient national forests in Alaska.”
The project sits in a region long entangled in the national fight over the Roadless Rule, which restricts road‑building and industrial logging across millions of acres of federal forest. Much of Revillagigedo Island — including areas adjacent to the South Revilla project — overlaps with Inventoried Roadless Areas, making any large‑scale old‑growth harvest politically and legally sensitive.
In 2020, during Trump’s first term, his administration exempted the Tongass from the 2001 Roadless Rule, opening 9.3 million acres to potential logging and road construction. That exemption, however, was reversed in 2023, when the Biden administration reinstated full protections. And in June last year, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced plans to repeal what she described as the “redundant and outdated” rules.
Conservation groups argue the South Revilla project undermines the Forest Service’s transition away from old‑growth logging, warning that large‑scale harvests threaten deer habitat, salmon‑bearing watersheds, and the forest’s globally significant carbon stores. Whilst public comments in Alaskan media have also raised concerns about subsistence hunting, tribal cultural resources, and cumulative impacts from decades of logging on Revillagigedo Island.
The renewed push comes as the administration accelerates efforts to expand harvesting across U.S. federal forests. Last year, Donald Trump signed an executive order to “free up” millions of hectares of national forest for lumber production. A final decision on the South Revilla project will follow the formal objection period, setting the stage for what could become one of the most consequential timber decisions in the Tongass in more than a decade.
