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tection is the best way to enhance and protect the anadromous 

 fisheries on the Tongass National Forest. 



As part of the Tongass land management plan revision, we are 

 relooking at the existing wilderness areas on the Tongass to deter- 

 mine what is the best long-term management, in view of their spec- 

 tacular scenery, their high resource values, as well as the needs for 

 producing timber to sustain the existing industry and provide wood 

 products that are sold in the world trade. 



There are some 1.6 million acres of commercial forest land in 

 wilderness today. The 1.8 million acres that would be added under 

 H.R. 987 contains almost 250,000 acres of land that are currently 

 judged as suitable for timber production. Removal of these lands 

 would have a significant impact on our ability to maintain timber 

 supplies needed by the existing local industry. 



Designation of some of these wilderness areas would block access 

 to timber land not included in wilderness, but for which access 

 should go through these areas. 



We are examining these areas through the process of revising 

 the land management plan, and we strongly urge that action on 

 this designation await the completion or at least the draft stage of 

 that revision process. We believe this will provide the Congress 

 with good sound information on the resources and on the interests 

 of the public in long-term management of that resource, and will 

 provide a better long-term basis for management. 



The Chairman. Let me interrupt you at that point. You and Ms. 

 Kearney both say we should stay the process until the report 

 comes out. 



Mr. Leonard. Yes. 



The Chairman. You recognize that that would mean basically 

 staying the bill for this Congress? If we held this thing up until the 

 plan comes out in June and then held hearings on it and then went 

 to markup after that, we would be at the end of the appropriations 

 cycle and the bill, unless it was passed by consensus, which it prob- 

 ably would not be, would be pretty well dead for this year. 



Are you saying in effect we ought to put it over until the next 

 Congress? 



Mr. Leonard. I think that making these judgments on the basis 

 of sound data, particularly in a situation, as here, where the inter- 

 ests are extremely polarized and this is simply a tremendous emo- 

 tional issue among people, and delaying until there is a sound data 

 base to evaluate the impacts of the decisions that are to be made I 

 think will result in better long-term public policy. 



None of the areas that are being proposed for wilderness will 

 have their status affected during that delay. There are no actions 

 planned in those areas this year. So it is not as though these areas 

 are currently threatened and the Congress must rush into action. 



We think there is real merit in waiting until you have a good 

 data base, a good understanding. 



The Chairman. Even if that means waiting until next year? 



Mr. Leonard. Even if that means waiting until next year, yes, 

 sir. 



Just to finish my statement, we expect to have a draft of that 

 plan out in June, and that certainly would provide a sound analy- 

 sis of the alternatives. The final plan would be completed some 



