Editorial: Clinton’s new plan aids national forest

Tuesday, April 20, 1999 | 11:20 a.m.

President Clinton demonstrated his commitment to preserving the nation's largest forest from continued exploitation when last week he imposed new limits on logging in Alaska's Tongass National Forest. The policy will block logging on 234,000 acres and other types of development in the Tongass, which comprises one-third of the world's remaining temperate rain forest.

Members of Alaska's congressional delegation are fervent believers in logging expansion and are furious about the plan. But Clinton, who has appeased the delegation in the past by exempting the Tongass National Forest from other logging restrictions, stood up to the Alaska lawmakers this time. Some environmentalists are disappointed the administration didn't set aside more of the Tongass, but it appears the right balance has been reached between protecting the environment and ensuring sufficient timber for the logging industry.

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