President Trump has told Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to remove logging restrictions from Alaska's Tongass National Forest, opening it up to possible logging, mining, and energy projects, three people with knowledge of the matter told The Washington Post.
The 16.7-million-acre forest in southeastern Alaska is the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world. Before leaving office in 2001, former President Bill Clinton enacted a policy that prohibited construction of roads in 58.5 million acres of undeveloped national forest land. If the restrictions are lifted, it could affect 9.5 million acres in the Tongass, the Post reports.
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