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Nancy Hi 1 ding 

 6300 West Elm 

 Black Hawk. S.D. 57718 



Sept. 7. 1993 



Dear U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business, 



Below find my written testimony for: 



Field Hearing on "Federal Timber Policy and Its Impact on Small 

 Business" held of Sat. Sept 4. 1993 in Rapid City, S.D. 



I. Process 



I was shocked by your committee's conduct. There was only one 

 committee member, a time limit of 2 hours, no public testimony 

 was allowed and there was a panel of speakers heavily stacked 

 to one view point. During a hearing alleged to be investigating 

 timber policy, only one speaker out of at least ten, represented 

 environmental advocacy groups working on timber related issues. 

 This person was limited to a 5 minute speech. Questioning 

 on the issues by Senator Pressler was one sided. 



This was not a hearing - it was political performance art. 

 I believe, Pressler was running for reelection and providing 

 his constituents in the "Wise Use" Movement, with a forum for 

 public speaking and publicity, all paid for by the tax payers. 

 If this farce is representative of a federal hearing, it is 

 no wonder that our government is in such a mess. 



There are many complex issues involved and much misinformation 

 spread about by the "wise use" movement. Instead of delving 

 into the substance of issues, or requiring proponents to back 

 up their assertions with facts, the committee provided pro timber 

 panelists with another public forum to reiterate their 

 propaganda. 



II. Timber issues 



Compet i t i on : 



Do Pope and Talbot or Continental qualify as small businesses? 

 What is the status of the truly small mills or contractors? 

 What percent of the Black Hills timber industry is actually 

 a small business? What percent of the timber cut on public 

 land or private land is cut by small or large businesses? Have 

 these percents changed over time? If so, why? 



To what degree is loss of companies or jobs just a part of the 



