Audubon says Sealaska targeting Tongass trees

ANCHORAGE (AP) — More than 12,000 acres of the Tongass National Forest's oldest and largest trees are being targeted for logging under a bill that would place wide swathes of forest lands in private hands, an Audubon report says.

“These are the ancient giant tree stands,” said Audubon Alaska policy director Eric Myers. “These are effectively the redwoods of the Tongass.”

Audubon Alaska used U.S. Forest Service data to look at the potential impact of a bill pending in Congress that would allow Sealaska Corp. to pick choice lands in the nation's largest national forest for logging and other uses...