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equitable, and viable solution to the management of these re- 

 sources and this great land. There must be a balance. We must be 

 able to provide responsible stewardship for our people, as well as 

 our land. One cannot exist without the other, and we as Alaskans 

 know that the key word is "responsible." 



Although there will always be a few to abuse, we feel that, as 

 Alaskans, we can and will implement laws with teeth in them to 

 protect our environment and perhaps even incentives can be pro- 

 vided to those companies and people who go out of their way to 

 abide and even go beyond what is required of them in the protec- 

 tion of our environment. 



We believe that not only are we better equipped geographically 

 but emotionally to handle the Tongass. Remember that unless we 

 promote the development of our resources and do it shortly, we will 

 find ourselves in the position of having a State fiscal shortfall and 

 an area shortfall that someone will have to make up the difference, 

 and you know who that is. That is you and me and the rest of the 

 taxpayers. And even with those taxpayers being used as a resource 

 for revenue in the form of taxation, we could not provide enough 

 money to run this great State. 



For us, this is not only an area of great beauty and one of con- 

 cern for the environment, but it is our home. 



I would just like to say something, after reading this statement 

 from Rocky, on behalf of the rest of the employees that work for 

 our company, we feel the hurt and the need and the social prob- 

 lems that the communities where the logging shutdowns and the 

 layoffs have occurred because we see those people in the grocery 

 stores. We see the people that have lost their cars and lost their 

 homes and cannot make the rent payments, had to go on welfare 

 and use food stamps and stuff like that. We see the social problems 

 that result in the breakups and the hurts in families on a daily 

 basis because of these social problems when a man that was used 

 to — or a woman — has been used to providing for his family can no 

 longer do so, and it is beyond his and his employer's — it is beyond 

 their power to change that. It is being mandated down to us by 

 people who just do not see the hurt and the problems that it is cre- 

 ating for people that really love this country and want to live here 

 and make their homes and they want to provide homes for their 

 children and jobs for their children in the future. It might be all 

 right for some of our children to go to Los Angeles or New York 

 or Seattle or wherever and make their lives and homes, but we 

 would like to at least have them have a choice of staying here and 

 making this their home, and I feel we are going to lose a genera- 

 tion of Alaskans, especially Southeast Alaskans, if something does 

 not change and we do not get control of this Tongass. 



Thank you, sir. 



The Chairman. You cannot put it more eloquently than you just 

 did, and I deeply appreciate that. 



Judy, you are up next. 



STATEMENT OF JUDY WILLIS, COFFMAN COVE 



Ms. Willis. I would like to start off by thanking you people for 

 this opportunity to testify on House Bill 2413. 



