417 



SOUTHEAST 

 ISLAND 

 SCHOOL 

 DISTRICT 



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POS.T Of 'Ct K* 83<S0 



tCeXHlKAS 1 . A.ASi'.A J9901 



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Rcbr' Weirulefo 

 Sl«MnT{NOEi\iT 



February 27, 1990 



Senator Bennett Johnston 

 United States Senate 

 Washington, D. C. 20510 



Dear Senator Johnston: 



This letter is to address legislation regarding" proposed changes in 

 management of the Tongass National Forest, with specific emphasis on 

 the involvement of the Southeast Conference in attempting to develop a 

 "consensus" position representative of Southeast Alaska communities. 



I am writing this letter not only due to recent events and the 

 controversy over th9 Southeast Conference amending its position, but 

 also tc express concern oyer wh2t had been deemed the original 

 "compromise" adopted by the Southeast Conference last year which 

 allegedly represented a consensus of Southeast communities . I did not 

 write before now because I was reluctant to interject myself or the 

 school district into a matter which,, in my opinion, should have been 

 dealt with directly by those at the highest levels of state government, 

 as well as by members of Congress and appropriate federal agencies, 

 rather than by an organization such as the Southeast Conference. 



In my opinion, the proposal developed last year did not in fact represent 

 a consensus of communities in Southeast Alaska regarding the 

 legislation. While I am not aware of the inner workings of the 

 Southeast Conference, I have been concerned about basic fairness and 

 honesty since the adoption of the "compromise" last year and the 

 touting by Its proponents that it had undergone a rigorous process 

 designed to gather input from communities in the Tongass regarding its 

 possible effect upon those communities, and their inhabitants, 

 livelihoods, and lifestyles. 



