101 



replace it have not been finalized. Last year, the sole 

 remaining mill in this area, Sierra Forest Products, reduced 

 their production from two shifts to one and laid off 60 people. 

 They currently employ 160 people on a year-round basis and 

 another 125 during the logging season. The forest products 

 industry as a whole contributes around $33 million to the local 

 economy on an annual basis. If H.R. 2153 is enacted, many of 

 these people will lose their jobs, and although the bill provides 

 for "retraining" and "job counseling" for these workers, I think 

 it would be better if we let them keep their jobs for the time 

 being. 



In closing, I would like to urge you to listen carefully to 

 each of the witnesses that follow. They will give you more 

 examples of what is wrong with this legislation, why it is not 

 necessary and how its enactment will affect them, their families 

 and their businesses. I hope that by the end of the day, you 

 will find yourself in agreement with my assessment that this bill 

 is totally unnecessary and offers no measurable enhancement of 

 protection for the giant sequoias. 



