Gov. Dunleavy signs agreement to boost young-growth timber, reforestation in Tongass

By SUZANNE DOWNING

Feb. 25, 2026 – Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who first came to Alaska to work in timber harvest in the 1980s, on Monday entered the State of Alaska’s Division of Forestry and Fire Protection into a shared stewardship agreement with the US Forest Service, creating a new framework for coordinated forest management across the Tongass National Forest and opening the door to large-scale reforestation and expanded timber activity.

The agreement, announced in a press release from the governor’s office, establishes an interagency team to identify priority projects and goals. It authorizes the state to carry out forest restoration projects on up to 300,000 acres of the Tongass National Forest, a significant footprint in the nation’s largest national forest.

A central focus of the agreement is the development of a young-growth timber industry, paired with reforestation and active forest management. State officials say the goal is to support economic opportunity while improving forest health, public safety, and community resiliency.

“As someone who has worked in a logging camp in Southeast Alaska, I know how important having a working forest is to communities in Southeast,” Dunleavy said. The governor came to Alaska after college in 1983, signing on with a logging camp to work in the mechanic shop and fuel vehicles.

He described the agreement as a “lifeline to the blue-collar Alaskan workers in Southeast Alaska” and criticized prior federal management approaches that he said treated the Tongass “as if it were a National Park.”

The agreement stems from President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14225, titled “Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production,” which identifies domestic timber production as critical to national well-being.

For Southeast Alaska’s timber sector, the emphasis on young growth is notable. Over the past decade, federal policy has increasingly shifted away from large-scale old-growth harvests in the Tongass, pushing the industry toward second-growth stands that regenerated after heavy logging during the mid-20th century.

However, many operators have long argued that market demand, particularly for high-value specialty products, still centers on old growth. Transitioning mills and logging infrastructure to rely primarily on young growth has been challenging due to tree size, milling specifications, and economics.

The new agreement attempts to bridge that gap. According to the governor’s office, it aims to increase economic opportunities for young-growth timber “while meeting market demand for old-growth timber,” signaling that some level of old-growth harvest will remain part of the management strategy.

The forestry association and industry stakeholders have repeatedly pressed for more certainty around old-growth supply, arguing that without it, long-term investment in mills and workforce development is difficult. While the agreement does not overhaul federal old-growth policy, industry observers say expanded state involvement and the 300,000-acre restoration authority provide at least a pathway to more predictable management and potentially more timber volume than Southeast has seen in recent years.

Another notable feature of the agreement is the composition of the interagency working group that will identify priority projects. The group’s scope includes not only timber and forest health initiatives, but also mining exploration and development.

That inclusion ties forest management planning to broader resource development strategies in Southeast Alaska, where access roads, permitting coordination, and land-use planning can intersect with both timber and mineral projects.

DNR Commissioner-designee John Crowther said the agreement represents a new level of coordination between state and federal agencies.

“This shared stewardship agreement is a level of federal coordination and prioritization to maximize the value of Alaska’s national forests unlike what Alaska has seen in years,” Crowther said. He added that the goals, including economic opportunity, public safety, forest health, community resiliency, and rural prosperity are “needed now more than ever.”

The authorization for large-scale reforestation could also reshape management practices. Active replanting and restoration across hundreds of thousands of acres may accelerate the maturation of young-growth stands and improve long-term timber supply, while also addressing wildfire risk and forest health concerns.

Supporters say the agreement signals a shift away from preservation-only management and toward a “working forest” model that integrates timber, minerals, and community stability. Critics of expanded harvest, meanwhile, are likely to scrutinize how the 300,000-acre restoration authority is implemented and whether old-growth harvest increases under the new coordination structure.

For Southeast Alaska’s timber communities, the deal does not instantly resolve long-standing debates over old growth versus young growth. But with formal state participation, federal backing tied to increased timber production, and a broader resource-development lens that includes minerals, the agreement marks one of the most consequential forest policy moves in years, and one that could shape the future of Alaska’s working forests for decades.