Tlingit & Haida Executive Council opposes rescinding Tongass roadless rule

The Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska has placed itself on record against lifting road-building limits across the Tongass National Forest.

Resolution EC 26-03 says rescinding the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule would open unroaded parts of the tribe's traditional homelands to logging and industrial activity. At risk, the Executive Council says: Sitka black-tailed deer, cultural trees, salmon and other anadromous fish, berries and medicinal plants. The council adopted the resolution Jan. 16. Tlingit & Haida has more than 38,000 citizens.

The resolution states that continued protections are "necessary to safeguard Alaska Native subsistence resources, cultural and spiritual use areas, biodiversity, watershed integrity, and climate resilience within Tlingit & Haida homelands." It also asserts that Indigenous Knowledge "constitutes best available science" and must be built into federal impact analysis. It directs President Richard J. Peterson or a designee to transmit it to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Forest Service and the Interior Department.

The resolution reaffirms the 2020 Tribal Homelands Petition from nine Southeast Alaska tribal governments. It demands compliance with Section 810 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and Executive Order 13175 on tribal consultation. The USDA has proposed rescinding the roadless rule nationwide, affecting about 18.2 million acres. Twelve Southeast tribes filed joint technical comments opposing the Tongass rescission in October 2025.

Resolution EC 26-06, adopted Jan. 16 by 5 yeas, 0 nays and one abstention, authorizes seeking up to $375,000 in small business loan funding from Haa Yakaawu Financial Corporation for Village House Printing & Engraving. EC 26-24, adopted Feb. 20, authorizes administering $1,149,999 in U.S. Office of Child Care American Relief Act funds for child care recovery in Juneau, Wrangell, Ketchikan, Saxman, Craig and Klawock. Both authorize processes rather than guarantee outcomes.

At a June 10 markup, U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Lisa Murkowski said the roadless rule "makes it near impossible to be able to provide for what we would determine to be necessary projects."

Public comment on the proposed rescission closes Sept. 21.