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the opportunity to consider appropriate protection for Salmon Bay and the 

 buffer strips. 



SALMON BAVS POSITION ON TONGASS LEGISLATION 



We hope the legislation for the Tongass National Forest which this 

 committee formulates will contain two key provisions. 



First, we request you add Salmon Bay Lakes, VCU 534, to the 23 areas in 

 the House Bill and we support the establishment of permanently protected 

 status for these 24 areas of the Tongass. The Southeast Regional Fish and 

 Game Advisory Board, the United Fishermen of Alaska, the United 

 Southeast Alaska Gillnetters Association, and the Southeast Alaska 

 Conservation Council support this addition of Salmon Bay and I include 

 two resolutions for the record. 



Second, the SBPA requests this committee include language which 

 requires a mandatory minimum no-cut 100 foot buffer strip of trees, 

 measured horizontally, along all Class I, n, and important HI streams. We 

 prefer the buffer language which the House passed Tongass Timber Reform 

 Act contains. For twenty five years Alaskan fishermen have requested 

 statutory fixed width buffer strips. This is a protective practice whose time 

 has come of age. 



The eight seafood processors who have contributed to our organization 

 have authorized me to inform you that they support the creation of 100 foot 

 minimum buffers on Class I, II, and important IE streams, and complete 

 protection for the million dollar fishery watersheds. I know that many of 

 them have written to some of you concerning this position. 



SIZE OF BUFFER REQUEST 



Senator Murkowski has recently supported statutory 100 foot buffers for 

 Class I streams. But class I stream buffer strips for the KPC sale area of 

 800,000 acres constitutes but two and a half percent of the buffer strip acreage, 

 only 45 acres out of 1745 buffer strip acres that will be logged on Class I, n, 

 and m streams in the current five year plan. 



Statutory protection for 1745 out of 28,500 acres that will be cut in the next 

 five years would flesh out of the multiple use concept. Already, the Forest 

 Service has allowed cutting of 30% of Class I stream buffer strips. If the level 

 of salmon production is to be upheld, buffer strips must be left along our 



TESTIMONY OF ALAN STEIN 



