The timber industry’s tired narrative that it needs more logging in the Tongass to survive does not add up. The hard facts show that the Tongass’s true value is in leaving the trees standing. According to the state of Alaska’s own economic experts, the Tongass timber industry has been in a state of decline, not because of the Roadless Rule but because of fundamental changes in global markets, high labor costs, and distances to markets. To be more specific, a 2020 report by Taxpayers for Common Sense found that the U.S. government has lost $1.7 billion on timber sales in the Tongass, and most of the trees commercially logged in Southeast Alaska were shipped to Asia with minimal processing and therefore minimal benefit in the region.