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SENATOR FRANK H. MURKOWSKI 

 U. S. SENATE ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE 



FEBRUARY 26, 1990 



Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding this hearing today so that 

 Alaskans and the Administration can present their views on the 

 Tongass wilderness legislation now before this Committee. It is a 

 rarity that this Committee hold hearings on a wilderness bill which is 

 opposed by an entire Congressional delegation — myself. Sen. Ted 

 Stevens and Congressman Don Young -- and the state's Governor. Not 

 only is this wilderness legislation unpopular from Alaska's perspective, 

 but it is based upon many false premises. Quite simply, the Tongass 

 National Forest is not in danger of being clearcut and the 

 administration of the timber program is not losing money. 



Only ten percent of the Tongass forest will ever be harvested 

 and this ten percent is harvested on a sustained yield basis over a one 

 hundred year rotation. This ten percent of the forest contains only 

 one-third of the high volume old growth timber stands over which 

 there is increasing public concern. The Tongass has led the way in 

 old growth forest protection when compared with other regions of the 

 country. Two-thirds of our old-growth timber resources have already 

 been dedicated exclusively to wilderness and fish and wildlife habitat. 

 Not to mention fisheries enhancement work such as the construction 

 of fish ladders and the seeding of lakes. Current Forest Service 

 fisheries enhancement work has the potential to bring an additional 

 eight to ten million pounds of salmon into fishermen's nets each year. 



In 1989, the Forest Service paid the State of Alaska over $5 

 million out of timber receipts for schools and roads and still returned 

 over $1 million to the treasury. In fact every $1.00 spent out of the 

 annual $40 million appropriation on the timber program in the 

 Tongass generated $1.41 in revenue. That's a forty-one percent 

 return on the Government's investment. You don't have to be a former 

 banker like I am to realize that a forty-one percent return on 

 investment is a pretty good deal. No matter how you look at it. 

 administration of the Tongass in 1989 did not result in a "tax payer rip 

 off" as many falsely contend. This is why the Tongass is not on the list 

 of "below cost" forests included in the President's budget. Eight 

 states, including Colorado, have forests which lose money on their 

 timber sales program. I would like to see those who target Alaska for 

 easy environmental votes do a little more to make their own forests 

 more productive. 



If this were the first wilderness bill for the Tongass National 

 Forest it might be appropriate for Congress to consider it. even in the 

 face of opposition from those representing the people of Alaska. But it 

 is not the first Tongass wilderness bill. The first Tongass wilderness 



