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appropriate effects analyses, including economics, to make the necessary 

 decisions required for Forest Plans. Site specific analyses for projects 

 under the forest plans will require more data to determine the specific 

 effects of projects. 



Question 17. How do you respond to SEACC's charge at pages 10-13 that volume 

 class information is so inaccurate that the GIS timber maps will "result in 

 inaccurate economic analysis'? 



Answer: We disagree with SEACC's characterization. Different timber types 

 have different economic value because of species composition, size of timber, 

 accessibility, and other factors. Our information is adequate for making the 

 analyses at the Forest Plan level. Additional information will be required to 

 analyze individual projects and will be obtained at the time needed. 



Question 18. How do you respond to SEACC's charge at page 13 of its testimony 

 that the "Forest Service has scuttled its commitment to a comprehensive 

 assessment of subsistence resource needs as part of the TLMP revision"? How 

 do you respond to Sealaska's subsistence complaints cited at pages 13-14 of 

 its testimony? 



Answer: The Forest Service has not scuttled its commitment to subsistence. 

 The TLMP Revision alternatives will respond to the subsistence evaluation 

 provisions found in ANILCA Section 810, and being a long range plan, will 

 evaluate future cumulative effects as part of the NEPA process. The TLMP 

 revision will incorporate subsistence information from the following sources. 

 The Forest Service, in cooperation with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game 

 (ADF&G) and the University of Alaska, has developed the most comprehensive 

 data base on Southeast Alaska rural subsistence uses found anywhere in the 

 State. Secondly, the revision will utilize information from previous Forest 

 Service studies and NEPA documents, community and resource specific 

 subsistence studies from ADF&G and discussions with Native Corporations. 

 Finally, the Tongass Resource Use Cooperative Survey (TRUCS) sampled 30 

 communities and conducted 1,465 household interviews to establish a 

 site-specific base of information and maps on subsistence uses for the TLMP 

 Revision and for future site specific project level planning. 



The Revision will address subsistence in terms of abundance, access, and 

 competition for the resources that the habitat is capable of producing. In 

 addition, the ADF&G will be providing the TRUCS information to the Boards of 

 Fisheries and Game to assist them in making regulations and determining 

 allocation priority for stocks of fish and populations of game. The Forest 

 Service as a habitat manager relies on the State to regulate and allocate the 

 priority for harvest of fish and game as has been their traditional role. 



Question 19. At page 14, SEACC alleges that the Forest Service is "covering 

 up the impacts of logging on wildlife." How do you respond to this charge set 

 forth with charts from pages 15-8 of SEACC's testimony? 



