Tongass Forest Plan Revision
June 16th 2026
Adopting a Fishermen’s Alternative for the Tongass Plan Revision
The U.S. Forest Service is revising its Tongass Land Management Plan, and in the preliminary draft content released earlier this spring, the Forest Service proposed to increase timber harvest in the Tongass by 56%. Their proposed increase ignores the fact that Tongass timber sales cost American taxpayers millions of dollars annually - this report by Taxpayers for Common Sense digs into decades of data showing the Forest Service spends far more than it makes on Tongass timber sales. Their proposal also ignores the fact that commercial fisheries (specifically salmon) are the economic backbone of Southeast Alaska’s communities, generating millions in revenue, income, and economic activity each year.
In response to pressure from Alaska’s Governor Mike Dunleavy, the Forest Service is moving at break-neck speed to wrap up its Tongass plan revision process in 2027. It has already blown through several public comment periods this year and hosted a series of community workshops around the region that did not allow for any public testimony. Although Alaska’s fishermen are the leading economic sector that depends on Tongass resources, the agency has largely cut Southeast Alaska’s fishing industry out of the plan revision process so far, with little mention or consideration of Southeast Alaska’s fisheries in the preliminary draft content.
In response, the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association and The Boat Company, an ecotour business, have proposed a “Fishermen’s Alternative” for the Tongass plan revision. The core principles of the “Fishermen’s Alternative” include:
● Protect productive fresh and saltwater habitat, with a focus on salmon. Managing for salmon meets multiple social and economic sustainability goals by maintaining diverse ecosystems and the services they provide.
● Incorporate the Northwest Forest Plan’s Aquatic Conservation Strategy, tailored for the Tongass. The strategy relies on an ecosystem approach that (1) protects watersheds that currently have healthy habitat and (2) halts further decline in watersheds that have some level of habitat degradation. The primary objective is to maintain and/or restore watershed distribution, diversity and complexity.
● Reduce the acreage designated as suitable timberlands. Lands designated as suitable timberlands should be available only to mills fully utilizing timber for products processed locally.
● Require in-region processing of Tongass timber. The Tongass is the only U.S. National Forest allowed to export round logs. Local processing and local use create jobs and are the right scale for the industry.
In a nutshell: Southeast Alaska’s fishermen want the Forest Service to adopt a management plan for the Tongass that puts fish first and prioritizes protection of fish habitat from activities well-proven to cause harm (i.e., logging). Protecting forests for fish preserves a basketful of ecosystem services that make the Fishermen’s Alternative the true community alternative.
Show your support for a Tongass management plan that prioritizes protection of Southeast’s wild fish and fish habitat by adding your name here.