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as a society, afford to forfeit it to satisfy the corporate debt 

 obligation of an investor who practiced the art of the eighties' 

 jvuOc bond finance? In this case, the public interest is 

 diametrically opposed to the corporate interest in profit. 



The public investment necessary to own and control this 

 property is a matter of great debate and profound concern. An 

 appraisal based on the stumpage value of every tree in the 

 proposed 3000 acre Headwaters Wilderness area and a surrounding 

 1500 acre buffer valued that portion of the property at hundreds 

 of millions of dollars. But no one can contend that the public 

 should pay for value that could never be realized by the current 

 owner. State and federal regulations undeniably limit harvest 

 potential. Negotiations must establish a realistic value based 

 on the actual ability to harvest. 



In the final analysis, after weighing all the evidence 

 about the impact on jobs, about the need to avoid environmental 

 "train wrecks" with respect to the marbled murrelet and the 

 salmon fishery, about the unique ecological significance of 

 ancient forests, we will have to look within and make a decision 

 about the public interest. 



We will have to make that decision without full knowledge 

 because in truth, we know very little about these magnificent 

 forests. We do know, however, that there is a great deal to 



