56 



and how he preserved the land and everything else, but it says, 

 "Now, first and foremost, you can never afford to forget for a mo- 

 ment: What is the object of our forest policy? That is not to pre- 

 serve the forests because they are beautiful, though that is good 

 unto itself, nor because they are refuges for the wild creatures of 

 the wilderness, though that, too, is good unto itself, but the pri- 

 mary object of our forest policy, as the land policy of the United 

 States, is to build more prosperous homes.", Theodore Roosevelt, 

 1903. And I always get a kick when they say Theodore Roosevelt 

 said he wanted a preserve. He did not say preserve; he said use. 

 He did not say preserve; he said conserve. There is a great deal of 

 difference. 



By the way, Roosevelt created this forest in 1907, and they keep 

 referring to that, but the truth of the matter is he said the primary 

 purpose was for building homes, and that is something, I think, we 

 ought to keep in mind. 



I want to thank the panel. I appreciate you being here, and you 

 are excused. 



The next panel — Panel II is Mr. Seley from Ketchikan; Les Loo- 

 ney from Craig, Alaska; Kelly Gerrits, Thome Bay; Carlyle Preston 

 from — and I apologize — N-A-U-K-A-T-I, how do you pronounce 

 that? 



Mr. Preston. Naukati. 



The Chairman. Naukati. OK, Naukati. And Ron Quick from 

 Naukati. Will all of you please take the witness stand, if you are 

 here, please? 



Check your signs to make sure you are sitting at the right place, 

 and I see we have Kelly and Mr. Preston 



Mr. Preston. Carlyle. 



The Chairman. Mr. Preston, Carl Preston, and Ron. 



Kelly, this time you are up first. 



STATEMENT OF KELLY L. GERRITS, THORNE BAY 



Ms. Gerrits. Congressman Young and fellow Alaskans, my name 

 is Kelly Gerrits. My family and I live on Prince of Wales Island, 

 the largest island of the Tongass National Forest. I truly believe 

 in the transfer of the Tongass National Forest from the Federal 

 Government. Right now our lives and policies are being dictated by 

 a government located on the East Coast with a very extreme way 

 of thinking. 



Absolute power corrupts absolutely. It is time to empower all 

 people of Alaska to manage their own land and their own lives. 

 People of Alaska directly or indirectly make their livelihood from 

 the natural resources of the land. These people were the first envi- 

 ronmentalists of Alaska. They know the true meaning of conserva- 

 tion: Wise usage. Who best to be responsible caretakers of our nat- 

 ural resources than the people who know and love this land? To 

 what advantage would we benefit by overfishing our waters or 

 overharvesting our forests? We want to live our lives here and pre- 

 pare a life for our children and their children's children, and I am 

 going to requote Teddy. 



Theodore Roosevelt said in 1903 to the Society of American For- 

 esters: And now and foremost you can never afford to forget for a 

 moment what is the object of our forest policy. That is not to pre- 



