19 



statement to look again at page 23 of the interagency working 

 group report. The statement is that objections which were raised to 

 the proposed rule 



Mr. Young. By whom? 



Mr. Wayland. Eighty-three percent of the respondents, 6,500 

 comments that were received were objections to the rule, but there 

 are any number of objections to the rule. The report says "objec- 

 tions to the rule focused on several key considerations. An addi- 

 tional million and a half acres of Alaska's wetlands would be de- 

 stroyed before the 1 percent threshold would be met including po- 

 tentially all of the 345,000 acres of valuable coastal wetlands." 



It is a comparison between the 1 percent threshold and the re- 

 source base. 



Mr. Young. Let's face it, my good friends on this Committee, 

 those objections are organized objections from those who do not 

 want an exemption or understand the uniqueness of Alaska. But 

 you listened to them, Sierra Club, Trustees, 57 environmental orga- 

 nizations which are in bed with you, let's not kid ourselves. That is 

 who you listen to. 



Go back to that map again and look at that map. How can you 

 arrive at a decision with all the protected land that we are going to 

 lose, the land that you are suggesting in that report? I want to get 

 back to where did this report come from? 



Who wrote the record on Alaska? Did you. Dr. Dickey? 



Dr. Dickey. No, sir, I did not. 



Mr. Young. Did you, Mr. Davison? 



Mr. Davison. No, sir. 



Mr. Young. Who wrote the section on Alaska? 



Mr. Wayland. There was no single author. This was a group 

 effort. 



Mr. Young. Oh, my God, this thing came out of the sky. 



Mr. Wayland. I certainly reviewed a number of drafts of the 

 report. 



Mr. Young. Have you ever been to Alaska? 



Mr. Wayland. Yes, I have visited. 



Mr. Young. Have you been on the ground? 



Mr. Wayland. Yes, I have. 



Mr. Young. Have you been in Bethel? 



Mr. Wayland. No, I haven't. 



Mr. Young. Where were you in Alaska? 



Mr. Wayland. Anchorage. 



Mr. Young. Oh boy, we have been in Alaska. You have been in 

 the biggest city. You have not been in the wetlands or in any vil- 

 lages and you come down with a decision, this is the right way to 

 go. 



Mr. Studds. The gentleman is expiring. 



Mr. Young. Mr. Chairman, I will guarantee you in three and a 

 half years, I know somebody else who is going to expire, too. 



Mr. Studds. If the Chair could intervene, it occurs to me just as 

 a possibility that there may be some reasonable substance to the 

 concerns of the gentlemen from Alaska. I don't know whether any- 

 body at the table is prepared to acknowledge that, but it might do 

 wonders, if that is the case, if somebody did and vowed faithfully to 

 work with the gentleman. 



