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XI. THE FOREST SERVICE IS MISLEADING THE PUBLIC WITH REGARD TO 

 SALMON PRODUCTION AND LOGGING ON THE TONGASS NATIONAL 

 FOREST. 



The same recent Forest Service publication, "Understanding the Past . . . Designing the Future," 

 claims that no matter how much timber is cut on the Tongass, salmon production will increase 

 10%. This is patently false. 



The increase reported is purely hypothetical. Forest Service planners programmed FORPLAN 

 to build salmon enhancement projects and assume increased salmon production, independent of 

 all other resource interactions in the computer model. 



The Forest Service assumed that all possible fish enhancement projects would be funded and 

 built in the first decade, to a tune of $33 million. They also assumed all projects would be 

 100% successful at producing more fish. 



However, enhancement projects are often times unsuccessful. In 1979 the Forest Service built 

 a fish ladder on Anan Creek, one of the regions top salmon producers. The average annual 

 escapement since the ladder was built has been less than the 50 year average annual escapement 

 before the ladder was built. 2 Therefore the Forest Service assumption of increased salmon 

 production due to enhancement projects may be very exaggerated. 



The attached graph from the Forest Service's analysis of the current Tongass Land Management 

 Plan illustrates the way unwarranted assumptions about salmon enhancement investments distort 

 the effects of logging on coho salmon. Coho salmon production increases in the first few 

 decades, because the Forest Service planners "hard-wired" the computer model to show this. 

 Then, after 2 decades, salmon population is projected to drop . 



Anan Creek pink salmon escapement data from U.S. Fish & 

 wildlife Service, Bureau of Fisheries and from Alaska Department 

 of Fish & Game. 



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