VOLUME 2 | ISSUE 3 | SUMMER 2025
“The Roadless Rule has hamstrung develop- ment on the Tongass National Forest since it was promulgated by the Clinton Administration in 2001." — Jim Clark, Juneau Attorney
ROADLESS RULE MUST BE SET ASIDE BY LEGISLATION
T HE TONGASS OCCUPIES A PREMIERE COPPER-ZINC-SILVER-GOLD-BARITE MINERAL BELT WHICH INCLUDES GREENS CREEK MINE, KENSINGTON MINE AND THE DAWSON MINE. The gigantic Canadian Windy Crag- gy Project is part of the same trend, just over the border in British Columbia. All are volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) mineral resources. Greens Creek is a producing, high grade, silver-zinc-gold- lead mine. Kensington is a producing gold mine. Windy Craggy is a 298 million metric ton copper-cobalt-gold deposit. The Bokan Mountain Project in southern Southeast is an established lithium rare earth prospect. The Dawson Mine near Hollis on Prince of Wales Island is a pro- ducing gold mine. Patricia Roppel’s book “Fortunes From the Earth” describes numerous histor- ic operating mines on the Tongass and establishes beyond doubt the value of the Tongass as mining district. The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the 2008 Tongass Land and Resource Management Plan pointed out that the U.S. Bureau of Mines had identified 148 locatable mineral deposits in the Tongass. Of these 52 were ranked as having the highest mineral potential. Seven were ranked as having the next highest potential and at least one “critical” and “strategic” mineral. (2008 FEIS at 3-356). A 1991 United States Geologic Survey (USGS) study estimated a value for Dis-
Order (EO) “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraor- dinary Resource Potential,” President Trump announced his policy to again ex- empt the Tongass from the Roadless Rule. In Paragraph 5(b) of his March 20, 2025, Executive Order: “Immediate Measure to Increase American Mineral Production” President Trump directed the Secretary of Agriculture to priori- tize “mineral production projects [that] could be fully permitted and operational as soon as possible and have the great- est potential effect on robustness of the domestic mineral supply chain.” Governor Dunleavy pointed to the Tongass as such a site and the barrier posed by the 2001 Roadless Rule in his April 11, 2025, response: “The primary barrier is lack of road access due to the 2001 Roadless Rule restrictions. Limited infrastructure exists near population centers and ports. Ex- panded mapping and USDA willingness to encourage mining are needed to devel- op this VMS area that is the size of West Virginia for the benefit of the nation.” Rather than reinstating the Tongass Exemption through administrative rulemaking, which has created investor uncertainty by ping-ponging back and forth as Administrations have changed, we urge the Alaska Delegation to find a legislative solution. JIM CLARK IS AN RDC MEMBER AND REGULAR CONTRIBUTOR TO THE ALASKA RESOURCE REVIEW
covered Minerals of $37.1 billion (ex- pressed as 1988 dollars) and a value for Undiscovered Minerals of $28.3 billion (expressed as 1988 dollars). The escala- tion in metals prices that has taken place since 1991 and 2008 has dramatically increased these numbers. The Tongass does not need the Road- less Rule to maintain its beauty, fish, and wildlife. It is already protected by 5.7 million acres of Wilderness and 775,524 acres of Legislative LUD II Areas (Similar to Roadless Areas). Mines and Hydro- power facilities require a footprint of roughly 300-400 acres. The Roadless Rule has hamstrung de- velopment on the Tongass National Forest since it was promulgated by the Clinton Administration in 2001. It forbids roadbuilding for timber harvest on 9.7 million acres, forbids road- building to geothermal sites, and makes road access for mineral and hydropower development dependent on subjective de- cision making and litigation. The expense of helicopter access and the uncertainty of when access of any type will be granted by the Forest Service and then successfully make it through the permitting and litiga- tion processes has stunted investment on the Tongass. President Trump exempted the Tongass from the Roadless Rule in his first Administration, only to have his exemption rescinded on the first day of the Biden Administration. In Paragraph (3)(c) of his January 20, 2025, Executive
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ALASKA RESOURCE REVIEW SUMMER 2025
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