An Alaska Native tribe and two conservation groups have gone to federal court to challenge a major old-growth logging project near Ketchikan in Southeast Alaska — one of the country's most important forest landscapes.
Here's what to know
In U.S. District Court, KRBD reported, the Ketchikan Indian Community, the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, and the Center for Biological Diversity challenged a Tongass National Forest proposal east of Ketchikan that would log more than 5,000 acres, most of it old-growth.
The dispute focuses on the South Revilla Integrated Resource Project, which the U.S. Forest Service cleared to proceed in July. Beyond logging, the proposal would also add trails, cabins, boat launches, and roads, making it a wider land-use effort.
Their complaint says the project breaks federal law, arguing that "the Forest Service failed to rationally balance the Tongass's multiple uses." They argue the harvest could hurt subsistence resources and recreation opportunities, while also damaging wildlife habitat, the larger ecosystem, and the regional economy.
More background
The South Revilla proposal emerged in 2018, was paused in 2020, and later moved forward again after environmental review and the Forest Service saying work could begin immediately.
Beyond the Forest Service, the suit names the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Region 10 Acting Regional Forester Jeremiah Ingersoll, and Tongass National Forest Acting Forest Service Supervisor Janelle Crocker as defendants.
TCD Picks » Quince Spotlight
💡These best-sellers from Quince deliver affordable, sustainable luxury for all
For the plaintiffs, the conflict is about more than timber in a place where the forest underpins hunting, gathering, boating, tourism, and cultural practices. They say logging mature forest at that scale could strain natural systems and add pressure to the community resources residents depend on.
What's being done?
By taking the matter to federal court, the tribe and conservation groups are asking for outside review of whether the Forest Service followed the law before approving the project.
Challenges like this can slow or halt logging plans while judges consider whether agencies properly weighed environmental harms, competing forest uses, and effects on local communities.
The case points to a broader question about how public lands should be managed when economic development, recreation, cultural traditions, and conservation overlap.
Similar disputes have played out, often pushing federal decisions into court or sparking public campaigns. In Quebec, Indigenous leaders condemned a closed-door logging review shaping the future of boreal forests. In Alaska, advocates brought legal action over drilling in a protected federal region. This further proves that these decisions can ripple through ecosystems, local economies, and Indigenous communities.
Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.
