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The Chairman. Thank you very much, Ms. Troll. 

 Finally, Joseph Wilson representing Goldbelt. 



STATEMENT OF JOSEPH G. WILSON, PRESIDENT, GOLDBELT, 

 INC., ACCOMPANIED BY JOSEPHINE ARMSTRONG, CHAIRMAN, 

 BOARD OF DIRECTORS 



Mr. Wilson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Senators. 



I am Joe Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Gold- 

 belt, Incorporated, the urban Native corporation for Alaska's State 

 Capital, Juneau. I am accompanied today by Josephine Armstrong, 

 Chairman of the Board of Directors. Both Josephine and I are also 

 Goldbelt shareholders. 



Goldbelt is one of the four urban Native corporations created 

 under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971. Based on 

 the number of shareholders, we are the eleventh largest Native 

 corporation in Alaska. 



Unlike the approximately 200 ANCSA regional village corpora- 

 tions, Goldbelt received no cash distributions from $1 billion 

 Alaska Native Fund. We did receive the right to select timber 

 lands within the Tongass National Forest in settlement for the ab- 

 original claims of our more than 2,700 Alaska Native shareholders. 



In 1974 Goldbelt selected highly valuable timber lands on Admi- 

 ralty Island near the selections of the other Native corporations 

 with whom we planned to share costs and facilities for timber har- 

 vesting. 



After several years of controversy and litigation with the Sierra 

 Club and other environmental groups who opposed our Congres- 

 sionally mandated Native land selections on Admiralty Island, in 

 1979 we gave up our Admiralty Island land selections for timber 

 lands around Hobart Bay, a remote area about 80 miles south of 

 Juneau. 



Our selection at Hobart Bay in lieu of Admiralty Island was 

 made after years of negotiations with the Sierra Club and other en- 

 vironmental groups. They knew our desperate financial plight. 



When we finally made our peace with these groups, none of them 

 had expressed interest in Hobart Bay or any of the U.S. Forest 

 Service lands surrounding Hobart Bay either in the Chuck River or 

 the Port Houghton-Sanborn Canal areas. 



Our selection at Hobart Bay in lieu of Admiralty Island caused 

 Goldbelt to forego substantially better timber, which was only par- 

 tially offset by 7,000 additional acres. Also important to Goldbelt 

 was the ability to spread the enormously expensive infrastructure 

 costs of a remote timber operation over the five planned U.S. 

 Forest Service sales anticipated; that if we built a permanent type 

 of infrastructure at Hobart Bay, Goldbelt would be in a good posi- 

 tion to bid for the timber. 



However, if Goldbelt was not a successful bidder, our docks, 

 school, housing, sewer and water, underground utilities, and road 

 system would be leased to the successful bidder for years to come, 

 providing at least a return of Goldbelt's investment for having 

 been forced to move off Admiralty Island. 



While we were shocked at the devastating effect that H.R. 987 

 would have on Goldbelt, we were grateful that the Southeast Con- 



