The Tongass National Forest Is A National Treasure Worth More Than Timber
by Hunter McIntosh, President of The Boat Company
Snow-capped mountains are reflected in the water on May 9, 2022, in the Juneau District of the Tongass National Forest. (Photo by Maya Leschinsky/U.S. Forest Service)
Alaska’s Tongass National Forest is one of the last great wild places. Spanning nearly 17 million acres in Southeast Alaska, it is the largest national forest in the United States and one of the world’s largest remaining temperate rainforests. It is a sanctuary for grizzlies, wolves and salmon, a carbon-storing powerhouse, and home to communities who depend on the forest for their subsistence ways of life; nature-based tourism; and sustainable fishing.
And yet, despite its immense ecological and economic value, the Tongass remains under threat.
For decades, the logging industry and its political backers have tried to chip away at the Roadless Rule, a policy that protects just over half of the forest from road-building and industrial logging. Their argument? That cutting down these ancient trees is an economic necessity. But that claim crumbles when faced with the facts. The timber industry in the Tongass is not only economically unsustainable, it is a drain on the American taxpayer.
Logging in the Tongass is heavily subsidized, with every dollar of timber revenue costing taxpayers far more in infrastructure, road maintenance and environmental mitigation. Logging is no longer a major economic driver in Southeast Alaska and attempting to return this outdated business model to the Tongass would come at the expense of industries that bring more jobs and revenue to the region: sustainable fishing, outdoor recreation and ecotourism. The Roadless Rule allows these industries to flourish, while also allowing reasonable exceptions for some development, when needed. In other words, it’s a policy that’s working well, so let’s not break it.
Unfortunately, on his first day in office, President Trump issued an executive order directing the Department of Agriculture to work toward repealing Roadless Rule protections for the Tongass National Forest. Nothing has happened yet, but we should expect it. Meanwhile, Trump’s administration is taking a wrecking ball to federal agencies, including the Forest Service, which could make administration oversight of any logging and roadbuilding even more difficult. This further stretches an already severely understaffed region within the USFS, which can barely keep up with the annual permitting process for an ever-growing cruise and ecotourism industry. And now, two additional executive orders issued by the Trump administration on March 1 direct federal agencies to boost domestic timber harvest and increase timber production within national forests, by removing environmental regulations or protections for endangered species. All of this puts the Tongass gravely at risk.
For more than 45 years, my family’s company, The Boat Company, a nonprofit eco-cruise operation, has been proving that sustainable tourism is the real future of the Tongass. As the longest-running, conservation-based small ship operator in Southeast Alaska, The Boat Company has provided thousands of guests with an immersive, educational experience in this remarkable rainforest, fostering a deep appreciation for its wild beauty and the need to protect it. Our mission is simple but powerful: to inspire conservation through firsthand experience, ensuring that the Tongass remains intact for generations to come. This model is a shining example of how nature-based tourism can support local communities, preserve wildlife, and contribute to a thriving economy — without destroying the very place that makes it all possible.
Tourism and recreation support far more jobs in Alaska than logging ever will, and they do so without requiring massive government handouts or permanent scars on the landscape. In 2019, Alaska’s visitor industry generated over $4.5 billion in economic activity and supported more than 45,000 jobs — many of them in Southeast Alaska, where the Tongass is the main attraction.
The numbers tell a clear story: Protecting the Tongass isn’t just the right thing to do for the environment, it’s the smart thing to do for the economy.
Nature-based tourism is the economic future of Southeast Alaska. People come from all over the world to experience the Tongass as it was meant to be — wild, untamed and full of life. Whether they are fly fishing in crystal-clear streams, watching brown bears feast on salmon, or kayaking through misty fjords, visitors aren’t coming for clear-cuts and access roads. They are coming for the promise of something truly wild, a place where nature still holds dominion.
We must stop treating the forest as if its highest value is in board feet of lumber. Southeast Alaskans have moved past logging to new sustainable economies. The Tongass is worth more standing than cut. It is a climate buffer, a wildlife haven, and a driver of sustainable economic growth. Dismantling the Roadless Rule for the sake of an unprofitable industry would be a colossal mistake — one that future generations will not easily forgive.
America has so few truly wild places left. The Tongass is a national treasure, a place that still humbles us with its grandeur. Let’s keep it that way.
It’s time we take the lead and protect what truly matters.