Kenneth Tu, U.S. Forest Service regional administrative review coordinator, takes questions at a public meeting to discuss changes to the 2001 Roadless Rule. More than 50 Sitkans packed into a conference room at the Aspen Suites Hotel for the meeting. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
The state should have consulted the citizens of Southeast Alaska before it filed the petition requesting exemption from the Roadless Rule ; that is apparent from the strong, angry, nearly universal backlash to opening up roadless lands that was apparent at every scoping meeting that was held.
It is appalling that there is no official record of what was said at those meetings, by the intent of the state and the Forest Service. In the past, public meetings of this importance have been recorded and transcribed for the official record.
We hope that the USFS will listen and transcribe for the record the recordings of the Petersburg and Sitka meetings that Alaska Rainforest Defenders submitted for the record. We also hope that the USFS will ask the public to share any recordings of other meetings as well, and transcribe those too.
Do you have a recording a public meeting? Share it with us: defenders@akrainforest.org
USFS Meeting in Petersburg. Photo Becky Knight.