375 



-3- 



preparatlons of the 1979 TLMP — how much wilderness 1s necessary, how much 

 timber should be made available to local Industry, what kind of recreation 

 should be emphasized, and which areas should be open to development. 



The 1979 TLMP took, three years of analysis and preparation by 

 resources specialists before approval. Even then 1t did not please 

 everyone. But it was endorsed by most people because the process had 

 provided the opportunity for extensive public participation, something the 

 Congressional hearing process cannot match. The TLMP also provides the 

 Forest Service the flexibility to be responsive to the needs of varied 

 Interests and changing conditions -- a provision that is not 1n H.R. 987 or 

 other Tongass micromanagement bills. 



Today, 33 percent of the Tongass National Forest is managed as 

 wilderness. Sixteen percent 1s allocated to roadless area management to 

 retain the wlldland character of the area; 17 percent is managed for a 

 combination of uses, including recreation and some timber harvesting; 

 25 percent is allocated to intensive resources use and development 

 opportunities, primarily timber harvesting and mining. Only 10 percent of 

 the Tongass is allocated for timber harvesting under the current plan. A 

 total of 52 percent, more than half of the 16.7 million acres of forest, is 

 currently "set-aside." 



To ensure that the TLMP and other forest plans continue to be 

 responsive to citizens' concerns, the NFMA requires forest plans to be 

 revised on a "10-year cycle or at least every 15 years." In compliance with 

 these regulations, the TLMP is being revised. The Forest Service 1s 



