Officials announced that Dan Sullivan’s DC is gutting the United States Forest Service, and shuttering offices across the country, including the research and development station in Anchorage, threatening Alaska’s natural environment, public lands access, and fish stocks for generations to come.

“Once again, Dan Sullivan refuses to stand up to DC politicians as they wreak havoc on our state,” said Alaska Democratic Party Chair Eric Croft. “Self-serving Sullivan doesn’t care about our wilderness or our Alaska way of life, and he refuses to fight for us.” 

The Anchorage station employs hardworking Alaskans, serves 22 million acres of Alaska’s forests, and conducts critical research that preserves Alaska’s wilderness and keeps communities safe. Its closure is part of cuts so sweeping that more than 80% of the 14,000 public comments submitted opposed them, a clear signal that it’s out of step with Alaskans. Experts warn the cuts will devastate ecosystems, undermine conservation efforts, and threaten public access to Alaska’s forests.

Alaskans have more at stake in these cuts than any other state – the Chugach and Tongass are two of the largest national forests in the country, and they are the backbone of Alaska’s salmon economy. The Tongass alone produces three quarters of southeast Alaska’s commercial salmon catch, yielding more than $68 million every year. The Chugach is a lifeline for subsistence fishermen and together the forests contain over 230,000 acres of streams and lakes critical for the salmon life cycle.

As DC dismantles the institutions that protect Alaska’s way of life, natural environment, economy, and future, Dan Sullivan remains completely silent, and Alaskans are bearing the cost.