There Goes the Forest: Bush Administration Opens 3 Million Acres to Logging

Any hopes that President Bush might choose to salvage his tattered environmental credentials were dashed when his administration announced plans to open more than 3 million acres of Alaskan forests to logging, mining and road building.

The Guardian reported that the plan will open 3.4 million acres of the Tongass National Forest, a haven for a variety of vulnerable species, to logging and other development, 2.4 million acres of which are currently pristine.

The area had previously been granted protection by the Clinton administration under its "Roadless Rule" provision.

Claims by supporters of the plan that it would help bolster and sustain Alaska's economy were quickly shot down by environmentalists, who pointed out that logging makes up only around 1% of the state's economy - a far cry from the much more significant share made up by other activities that will be put at risk by the move, such as commercial fishing and tourism.