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data concerning pink salmon escapements on Laura's Creek, the 

 Salt Chuck Creek, and other salmon streams in the region, there 

 has been no adverse effect to the fish habitat on these two 

 salmon streams on Goldbelt's lands. In fact, salmon escapements 

 have tended to increase over the period of Goldbelt's logging 

 near Laura's Creek and Salt Chuck Creek. 



Goldbelt has also been logging for two years in the drainage of 

 the Chuck River, another significant salmon stream in the area. 

 While its activities here are too short-term to measure their 

 impact on salmon escapements, it is inconceivable there could be 

 any negative impact. Goldbelt and its contract logger have 

 avoided construction of any roads closer than 1/3 mile to the 

 Chuck River and are leaving buffer zones of greater width than 

 required by the state authorities. In addition, rather than 

 bridging the Chuck River, we are using an expensive aerial cable 

 system of over 1/2 mile in length to lift and carry logs across 

 the Chuck River to minimize soils disruption in the drainage. 

 These fishery protection measures in excess of requirements have 

 been recognized and praised by the Commissioner of the Alaska 

 Department of Fish and Game. 



Question #2 : Assuming the legislation were enacted, and you were 

 permitted to select other lands, could you give the Committee 

 some idea of what lands you might consider so that we will have 

 an idea of what will be in the next bill? 



Goldbelt's Answer to Question #2 ; Goldbelt has no additional 

 selection rights under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 

 1971 ("ANCSA"). In the event that the Chuck River is designated 

 a Wilderness Area, or for that matter a LUD II Area in which 

 logging is prohibited, Goldbelt will lose its $17 million 

 investment in Hobart Bay and over 100 miles of roads, a town and 

 port directed at, among other things, serving as a servicing area 

 for logging activities on U.S. Forest Service lands at Chuck 

 River. This was one of the benefits Goldbelt assumed it was 

 getting when it agreed to move off Admiralty Island and selected 

 lands at Hobart Bay. If Chuck River is not to be logged, 

 Goldbelt would be forced to request selection of other lands 

 within the Tongass in order to salvage a portion of the original 

 ANCSA settlement promised its shareholders. 



Sincerely, 



'Joseph G. Wilson 

 President and Chief 

 Executive Officer 



