Alaska Tribe Sues to Stop Old-Growth Logging in Tongass Forest
Alaska’s Ketchikan Indian Community sued to halt logging in Tongass National Forest.
Why it matters: The case highlights tensions over federal land management, indigenous rights, and environmental protection in the largest U.S. national forest. Legal teams advising on natural resources and environmental law will watch this dispute closely for its regulatory implications.
- The lawsuit was filed August 27, 2026, against the U.S. Forest Service over the South Revilla logging project.
- South Revilla covers 40,000 acres on Revillagigedo Island, targeting more than 4,000 acres of old-growth forest.
- The Tongass National Forest spans 17 million acres, the largest U.S. national forest and a major temperate rainforest.
- The U.S. Forest Service approved the project after releasing a final environmental impact statement in January 2026.
On August 27, 2026, the Ketchikan Indian Community teamed with the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council and the Center for Biological Diversity to sue the U.S. Forest Service. Their goal: to stop the South Revilla logging project in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, the largest national forest in the United States.
The South Revilla project permits logging on 40,000 acres of Revillagigedo Island, with plans to harvest over 4,000 acres of precious old-growth forest. This project marks the first large-scale old-growth logging initiative in the Tongass in over a decade, following the January 2026 final environmental impact statement by the Forest Service.
Gloria Ilsxilee Stáng Burns, President of the Ketchikan Indian Community, emphasized the deep connection between her people and the forest: "Our connection to this forest is not symbolic. It is our food, our medicine, our spirit. If the Tongass falls, so do we." The environmental groups condemned the logging as "an assault on the world’s largest remaining temperate old-growth rainforest," according to Alaska Attorney Marlee Goska.
This lawsuit arrives after a March 2026 federal judge’s dismissal of a timber industry lawsuit that sought to expand old-growth logging in the Tongass. That ruling had affirmed limits on logging, contrasting with the recent Forest Service approval of the South Revilla project. The legal conflict underscores ongoing disputes about how federal lands in Alaska should be managed—and which interests should prevail.
For legal counsel in natural resources and regulatory practice, the case is a key bellwether. It presents an intersection of indigenous legal activism, environmental law, and federal administrative decisions over valuable natural resources. How the courts rule could impact future federal land management and conservation policies not only in Alaska but across national forests.
By the numbers:
- 40,000 acres — land covered by South Revilla logging project
- 4,000 acres — old-growth forest slated for harvesting
- 17 million acres — size of Tongass National Forest