28 



the labor market information, just to let you know how the unem- 

 ployment percentages have been since the President's forest plan. 



In 1991, our unemployment in Siskiyou County ranged from 8.7 

 percent to a high that year of 18.5 percent, and then the Presi- 

 dent's plan went into effect the next year. In 1992, it was 12.6 per- 

 cent to 18.4. Then, since the President's forest plan has gone into 

 effect, our unemployment levels have actually increased. In 1993, 

 it went from 12.4 to 20.9 percent. In 1994, it was 11 percent to 

 18.6. In 1995, 11 to 18.7. And most recently, so far in 1996, it has 

 been 19.6 percent, 20 percent, with a low this year of 12. So it has 

 actually increased, it has not decreased. So no, it has not helped 

 our communities at all. 



Mr. Herger. And Joan, the President also promised during this 

 same press conference that his plan would help "build a better fu- 

 ture for the families of the Northwest for their children and grand- 

 children". You are familiar with Siskiyou County's school system. 

 In your opinion, how has the President's forest plan impacted the 

 children in Siskiyou County, the county you represent? 



Ms. Smith. I have a report with me from the Siskiyou County 

 Superintendent of Schools, and probably representative of that 

 would be the number of children that are below the poverty level, 

 in other words, children receiving free and reduced meals. In 1988- 

 89, those children in Siskiyou County were at 36 percent, 36.1 per- 

 cent. It has increased since the President's forest plan to 45.76 per- 

 cent. In fact, in 1992-93, when it went into effect, it was actually 

 at 40.58 percent county-wide, but in the little community of Happy 

 Camp, where they lost the only mill, the only large business, it is 

 actually at 80 percent. 



Mr. Herger. Thank you. Again, when the President came up 

 with his plan, we were in pretty bad shape, and the President's 

 plan supposedly, as I recall it, was to help our communities, to help 

 improve the employment rates, and help improve the economies of 

 our communities as well as the environment of the forest. 



I believe the case can be made very strongly — we have just heard 

 it here with your statistics — that not only has it not improved, it 

 has become fairly dramatically worse. I believe we could go over 

 the same kind of statistics for our forest specifying that the forest 

 health has also become quite dramatically worse during that period 

 of time. Thank you. 



Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 



Mr. COOLEY. [Presiding.] Thank you, Mr. Herger. 



Mrs. Chenoweth, do you have any additional questions you would 

 like to ask? We will give you another chance. 



Mrs. Chenoweth. No, thank you, Mr. Chairman. 



Mr. CoOLEY. I want to thank the panel very much for coming 

 today. I appreciate you. I know all of you came from a long, long 

 way. We all travel that route. It is nine hours going this way and 

 12 hours going back. I know some of you will stick around and we 

 will see you later this week, but thank you very much for coming. 

 I appreciate that very much. 



At this time, we would like to call up panel two, Mr. Tom Mayr 

 from Mayr Brothers Company, Mr. Bendix from Hi-Ridge Lumber 

 Company, and Ms. Bonnie Phillips, Executive Director of the 



