Forest Service adds Nov. 4 hearing in Kake on roadless repeal's effect on subsistence

The U.S. Forest Service will hold a hearing in Kake on Nov. 4 on how repealing the 2001 Roadless Rule would affect subsistence, the agency said Monday in an updated hearings release.

The hearing runs from 5 to 7 pm Alaska time at the Organized Village of Kake Tribal Council Chambers.

The hearings take oral testimony on how repeal would affect subsistence uses in Alaska. That testimony goes into the record the agency will consider for the final rule and its environmental analysis. The Forest Service does not take written comments at the hearings, and the written comment period has closed.

The hearings are required by Section 810 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, which the proposed rule cites. The Forest Service first announced four on Aug. 24: Ketchikan on Sept. 29, two virtual sessions on Sept. 30 and Anchorage on Oct. 1. The updated release also lists a Craig hearing set for Oct. 26. Kake makes six and is the only one still ahead.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed the repeal Aug. 20 in a Federal Register filing. The 2001 rule limits road building and timber cutting in national forest roadless areas. The Forest Service says the rule covers nearly 45 million acres nationwide, including in Alaska. Alaska News reported Aug. 20 that the proposal would open 9.3 million acres in the Tongass and Chugach national forests to potential road building and logging under local forest plans.

The proposal cites a presidential order directing the agency to reinstate the 2020 exemption of the Tongass from roadless protections. The Forest Service says that exemption was repealed Jan. 27, 2023. The proposed rule says repeal would not itself require any timber cutting or road construction.

The proposed rule also says most tribal governments consulted oppose the repeal, while one unnamed Alaska Native corporation supports it. Alaska tribal representatives asked for a full Section 810 subsistence analysis before any decision. The agency counted 64 consultation requests, with 34 scheduled and 29 held.

The written comment period ran from Aug. 20 to Sept. 21 before a Sept. 11 Federal Register notice extended it to Oct. 6. The Forest Service has not said when it expects a final rule.