The recently passed budget reconciliation bill, signed into law by President Donald Trump last week, does not include U.S. Senator Mike Lee’s (R-Utah) withdrawn proposal that could have potentially sold off areas of the Tongass and Chugach National Forests and parts of the Interior in Alaska. But even so, the Petersburg Borough is going on the record against selling public lands.
At a meeting on Monday, assembly members and community members voiced support for the borough resolution that formally opposes the sale of public lands and advocates for responsible stewardship.
Assembly Member Jeigh Stanton Gregor worked on creating the resolution back when the provision was still part of the reconciliation bill.
“We felt it was important to send the delegation a clear message from us as the Petersburg Borough about how we feel about our public lands,” he said at the meeting. “I think by sending this resolution now, we can be on record for potentially next year during budget session, meaning on the federal level.”
Petersburg is just one of the small, rural communities in Southeast Alaska surrounded by the Tongass National Forest — the largest of its kind in the nation. Data-backed maps made by environmental advocates showed much of the federal lands around Petersburg as potentially eligible to be privatized. That alarmed locals.
Community member Becky Knight testified during the assembly meeting on Monday. She stressed the importance of telling lawmakers “not to take the public out of public lands.”
“For those who remain unconvinced that public land should stay in public ownership, please consider that taxpayer funded forest roads, bridges, trails, log transfer facilities, decades-long planning processes and the cost of silvicultural treatments would be transferred along with their natural resources. I doubt that those fiscal losses would be considered in any transfer debacle,” she said. “Currently, with every day, the threat of privatization of public lands remain.”
The resolution outlines the Petersburg Borough’s serious concerns about Sen. Lee’s now-withdrawn provision that would have required the United States government to sell between two and three million acres of federal lands among western states.
Part of the resolution’s language states that “selling off public lands is irresponsible, short-sighted and irreversible as these lands belong to all Americans, and once sold, they are gone for good, with fences going up, access disappearing, and the lands being lost to the public forever.”
Assembly Member Scott Newman agreed that taking a clear stance against privatizing public lands can account for future approaches.
“I don’t think that this idea or concept is going to go away from what I’ve read from the senator in Utah,” Newman said. “This is a very good idea to let our delegation know exactly how we feel.”
Senator Lee’s June 28 statement about his decision to withdraw the federal land sales provision from the bill also noted he intends to make use of “underutilized federal land” — but in a way that “respects the legacy of our public lands and reflects the values of the people who use them most.”
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously passed the resolution on Monday with a 4–0 vote with Mayor Mark Jensen and Assembly Members Rob Schwartz and James Valentine excused.
