Background Information

History of the Tongass Forest Plan

The Tongass National Forest, the largest forest in the National Forest System, was the first to complete a Land and Resource Management Plan under the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) of 1976. The original Tongass Forest Plan was approved in 1979, and has been amended twice (in 1986 and 1991).

A Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) documenting the environmental analysis for this revision was released for public review in June 1990. In November 1990, the Tongass Timber Reform Act (TTRA) was passed. This Act imposed several new requirements for management of the Tongass affecting the Forest Plan and resulting in the preparation of a Supplement to the Draft EIS, which was released in August 1991. TTRA made permanent changes to Forest Plan land allocations and standards and guidelines, including the designation of new wildernesses and Congressionally-designated LUD II areas. The 1991 Supplement to the Draft EIS was followed by the Revised Supplement in 1996. The Revised Supplement was necessitated by new information and analyses relevant to several important issues.

The Final EIS and Record of Decision (ROD) were issued in January 1997. A revised ROD was issued in 1999, but this ROD was recently rescinded by a federal court. Therefore, the 1997 Plan and ROD represents the plan that describes how the Tongass is currently being managed.

Related Developments

The 1997 Tongass Forest Plan Revision included extensive analysis of roadless areas, which is reflected in the mix of land use designations identified in the Plan. However, in Sierra Club et al. v. Lyons (J00-0009 CV [JKS]), the Court found (on March 30, 2001) that the Forest Service should have considered alternatives with new wilderness recommendations in the Forest Plan Revision EIS published in 1997. Judge Singleton directed the Forest Service to prepare a Supplemental EIS that evaluates and considers roadless areas within the Tongass for recommendations as potential wilderness areas. The Forest Service was also directed to provide the relative contribution to the National Wilderness Preservation System in its analysis of the management situation.

In parallel to this legal process, the national Roadless Area Conservation Rule of January 12, 2001 is the subject of a number of lawsuits and it appears that this rule may be embroiled in legal uncertainty for a lengthy period. As a result, on June 7, 2001 the Chief of the Forest Service, Dale Bosworth, issued the following direction: 1) he reserved the decision authority for timber harvest and road construction in inventoried roadless areas to himself; 2) all national forests were directed to complete efforts to identify and properly map existing classified roads; and 3) he instructed all national forests to ensure that forest plan amendments and revisions consider the long-term protection and management of unroaded portions of inventoried roadless areas.

In response to Judge Singleton's order and the Chief's direction, the Tongass National Forest decided to prepare a Supplemental EIS and update the Analysis of the Management Situation on the Tongass with regard to roadless areas, including an assessment of the relative contribution to the National Wilderness Preservation System. This process also involved updating the mapping of existing roads and roadless areas on the Tongass.