President Obama’s administration has approved the sale of timber in a roadless national forest in Alaska.
The Tongass National Forest is a 17 million acre temperate rainforest in south-east Alaska, which is home to native Alaskan tribes. It is the largest temperate rainforest in the US.
The sale is the first awarded since secretary of agriculture Tom Vilsack announced in May he would personally review all timber sales in roadless areas of national forests in the next year.
Tongass environmental activists had been hoping Mr Vilsack’s announcement would translate to a temporary moratorium on timber road-building in roadless areas, including this and three other timber sales on the Tongass.
