326 



Question 12. At page 2 of its testimony, SEACC says that since the Forest 

 Service AMS shovs an allowable sale quantity of 580 million board feet, even 

 after SEACC 's land proposals, 464 million board feet would be left for timber 

 harvest. Does the Forest Service agree or disagree with these figures, and 

 why? 



Answer: We disagree. We assume SEACC is referring to the Maximum Present Net 

 Value Benchmark showing an allowable sale quantity of 580 MMBF. A benchmark 

 is not an alternative. It merely serves to show that if the Forest was 

 managed for maximizing present net value, the Forest could produce 580 MMBF. 

 We are not aware of the basis of the remaining volume they predict, but we do 

 not believe it accurately reflects a realistic management alternative. Within 

 SEACC s Wilderness Proposals, we do know that there are about 700,000 acres of 

 commercial forest land which is currently included in the timber base for 

 purposes of calculating the allowable sale quantity for the Tongass. 



There is much more to developing an ASQ for management of a National Forest 

 than merely subtracting the volume attributed to a series of land units from 

 the volume determined through the Maximum Economic Benchmark. We believe that 

 such a volume can only be determined through the process outlined by Congress 

 in the National Forest Management Act. 



Question 13. At page 2 of its testimony, SEACC says that the Forest Service 

 has claimed that the House buffer strip proposal would reduce the allowable 

 sale quantity by 20 percent and that the Forest Service claim was "a 

 deliberate effort to misconstrue House intentions." Does the Forest Service 

 agree or disagree, and why? 



Answer: We disagree. Our statements with regard to the effects of mandating 

 a 100-foot buffer were made first in reference to a reduction in acreage of 

 the tentatively suitable timber land, not volume, and include: 



Present Forest Service Streamside Prescriptions 5 percent 



National Marine Fisheries Service Policy 10 percent 



HR 987 languagel/ 25-35 percent 



1/ Minimum of 100 feet in width on each side of all anadromous fish streams 

 and their tributaries except those tributaries with no resident fish 

 populations which are intermittent in flow or have flow of inadequate 

 magnitude to directly influence downstream fish habitat. 



Question 14. At page 8 of its testimony, SEACC makes various allegations 

 about the Forest Service planning process: 



a. Is the 1979 TLMP a "true NFMA Forest Plan" 7 



Answer: Yes. The Forest Service regards the TLMP, which was completed in 

 March 1979, as a Forest Plan under NFMA. 



