72 



doing, the bill undermines the Secretary of Agriculture's authority 

 to manage the resources of the Tongass National Forest; restricts 

 the Secretary's ability to adapt to changing environmental 

 information; provides special benefits to a private corporation; 

 and conflicts with certain existing laws, including the National 

 Forest Management Act and other provisions of the Tongass Timber 

 Reform Act. 



Secretary Glickman has committed the Department to maintaining a 

 sustainable timber flow to Ketchikan Pulp Company in accordance 

 with the terms of the existing contract, the Tongass Timber Reform 

 Act, and other relevant statutes. If the United States decides to 

 continue a contractual relationship beyond the year 2004 with KPC, 

 we believe that the appropriate vehicle would be a new contract in 

 accordance with the Tongass Timber Reform Act -- not the one 

 provided in H.R. 3659. 



While the Department would welcome a discussion of timber-related 

 opportunities for southeast Alaska, we strongly object to 

 legislating an extension of the current KPC contract as provided 

 for in H.R. 3659. Should the bill come to the President for 

 signature in its present form or as an amendment to other 

 legislation, we would recommend that he veto it. 



What the Bill Does 



We object to the statutory modification of the existing long-term 

 timber sale contract with Ketchikan Pulp Company in H.R. 3659. The 



