225 



The Chairman. Thank you very much, Mr. Finney. 

 Next we will hear from Kate Troll, who is the Executive Director 

 of the Southeast Alaska Seiners Association. 



STATEMENT OF KATHRYN TROLL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, 

 SOUTHEAST ALASKA SEINERS ASSOCIATION 



Ms. Troll. Thank you. 



I am also here on behalf of United Fishermen of Alaska. First I 

 would like to give you a little bit more background. I too have a 

 master's degree in forest science from the Yale School of Forestry 

 and Environmental Studies. I have practiced in this field for the 

 state and local government and private sector, as well as Native or- 

 ganizations. 



United Fishermen of Alaska is a private nonprofit statewide or- 

 ganization for 23 local fishing associations, has a total membership 

 of about 18,000, thereby making it the largest fishing association in 

 America. 



I would like to start by reminding you that the seafood industry 

 is the largest private industry in southeast Alaska, and I too can 

 produce the McDowell report to substantiate that and I would be 

 glad to do so. 



Commercial salmon fisheries rely on literally thousands of large 

 and small stream systems to provide fish for harvest. It is the accu- 

 mulated production of such streams that make for a viable salmon 

 industry. 



As such, we are keenly interested in stream and watershed pro- 

 tection, that they be legislated as part of Tongass timber reform. 

 We believe this can be accomplished and should be accomplished 

 while maintaining a viable timber industry. It is not an all or noth- 

 ing type of proposition. 



We seek streamside buffers in direct response to the inadequate 

 protection currently provided by the Forest Service. A minimum 

 100-foot buffer is advocated for more than large woody debris. Mr. 

 Don Finney would like to make you think that is the only concern 

 as to why we have buffers and the NMFS policy was developed. 



But it is also for stream temperature regime, water quality, sedi- 

 mentation. It is for the whole mix of things, and there are studies 

 to show that if you have a 100-foot leave strip that the temperature 

 regime within that 100-foot will be very similar to that of an un- 

 tagged forest. 



He fails to mention these other important factors that are all 

 part of the NMFS policy. 



I would also like to go into a little bit about the amount of 

 timber needed for retention for streamside habitat. We do not look 

 at it as timber lost; we look at it as timber retained for fish. Fish 

 need timber. 



Mr. Finney points out rather exaggerated figures by saying that 

 H.R. 987 includes all Class III streams. It does not. It is just a 

 handful of Class III streams. The focus is on Class I and primary 

 tributaries, that being Class II. When you get to that level, you are 

 talking five to ten percent timber retention for fish habitat starting 

 from the ground up when you look at adding what amount of 



