no 



in programs and infrastructure the taxpayers of this country have 

 made to the resources of the Tongass and the economy of Alaska 

 since the Tongass was established in 1907 is substantial. Even 

 if transfer of the Tongass made sense from a management 

 standpoint, the Administration would object to relinquishing 17 

 million acres of valuable federal property and improvements 

 without adequate compensation to the federal treasury. 



H.R. 2413 would also change the flow of economic benefits that 

 Forest Service programs have created for the 33 communities and 

 local governments within the Tongass. The Forest Service shares 

 25% of all revenues from timber sales and other activities on the 

 national forests. In 1995 this amounted to $7.6 million. Of 

 this total, the city of Wrangell alone received $536,000 and 

 Ketchikan received $337,000. For both these cities, as for the 

 other communities in Southeast Alaska, these revenues are a key 

 component of local government finances. If they were diminished 

 or lost, the alternative for most communities might be to raise 

 taxes, cut back on services, or both. 



The economy of Alaska would further be affected by the loss of an 

 estimated $60 to $80 million per year the federal government 

 spends to operate programs on the Tongass at the current level. 

 The cost of managing the Tongass will remain relatively unchanged 

 if H.R. 2413 is enacted. Yet the loss of this influx of federal 

 money coupled with the additional burden to the State budget is 

 certain to prove detrimental to the stability of the Alaskan 



