Support Growing For Tongas NF Roadless Rule Protection

The following is courtesy of Citizens for the Republic:

Alexandria, VA– Conservative leaders have vocalized their support over the past few months for maintaining the protections of the U.S. Forest Service’s Roadless Rule, which safeguards almost ten million acres of federally protected land in the Tongass National Forest from the destructive, taxpayer-subsidized forest clearcutting. 

A statewide poll of Alaska registered voters on January 28-29, 2020 by Baselice & Associates, one of the  national polling firms used by the Trump campaign, and commissioned by Citizens for the Republic, the organization founded by Ronald Reagan, found that a plurality (49%) of Alaskans oppose exempting the entire Tongass National Forest in Alaska from the protections of the Roadless Rule, which would allow more commercial logging and construction of new logging roads in these Roadless areas. Only 43% were in favor. The majority of the polled Alaskans are registered Republican voters.

Hundreds of concerned individuals including conservative leaders such as those below, as well as active hunters and fishers from Alaska and around the country, have signed an online petition voicing their support for maintaining the protections of the Roadless Rule. 

Ron Maxwell, famous historical film director and conservative conservationist, expressed his concern for maintaining the Roadless Rule in an op-ed in The Washington Examiner, “Keeping America great: preservation and conservation are the roots of American democracy,” wherein he states, “steeped in the history of our nation, the formation of the Tongass National Forest and the millions of acres of preserved land must be protected at all costs, to maintain our American identity and to honor those who fought for its preservation in years prior, while providing a natural retreat for millions of Americans in the years to come.”

Pete Sepp, president of National Taxpayers Union, emphasized the economic gains of maintaining the Roadless Rule protections in an op-ed in Townhall, entitled “The Economic Futility of Allowing Logging in the Tongass,” writing, “the benefits of maintaining an ecosystem that’s profitable for several economic sectors outweigh the costs of expanding a proven government money-loser targeted at one sector.” 

Craig Shirley, New York Times bestselling Ronald Reagan biographer, and well established conservative figure, also discussed the necessity for protecting the Tongass in an op-ed in The Washington Times, and how Ronald Reagan, perhaps one of the most revered presidents of our nation, “who owned and loved his 600-acre ranch in California, did not like waste. And while he is no longer with us, we know from his history of protecting the environment, he would have urged caution, before decisions are made which could adversely affect the Tongass National Forest forever.” 

Landon Parvin, former Ronald Reagan speechwriter, as well as Frank Donatelli, former political and intergovernmental affairs assistant to Ronald Reagan, and David Jenkins, president of Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship, have all voiced their support for Citizens for the Republic’s campaign to protect the Roadless Rule protections of the Tongass, as a means of preserving American heritage, and ensuring future economic prosperity.