44 



STATEMENT OF SENATOR FRANK H. MURKOWSKI 

 CONCERNING S. 237 AND S.346 



FEBRUARY 28, 1989 



INTRODUCTION 



Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you for holding this hearing today on 

 a very important subject to me and the people of the State of Alaska, 

 legislation addressing the future of the Tongass National Forest. I 

 oppose the legislation that has been introduced by Senator Wirth, 

 which is designed, in my opinion, to seriously cripple the timber 

 industry in my State. His bill, S. 346, repeals section 705 of ANILCA 

 reneging on a deal crafted by this Committee in 1980, mandates 

 termination of two 50 year timber contracts which are vital to the 

 economy of Southeast Alaska and puts nearly 1.8 million acres of 

 valuable forest lands off-limits to multiple use management. Should 

 this measure become law, it would reduce the sustained yield of the 

 Tongass forest by more than half and abrogate contracts resulting in 

 a potential liability to the United States running into the hundreds of 

 millions of dollars. Not to mention the United States walking away 

 from a commitment made to the people of Southeast Alaska -- a 

 commitment that families, businesses and communities have relied 

 upon for 40 years. 



The sad thing is that this legislation will not create more jobs in other 

 sectors of the economy in Southeast Alaska as some contend, nor will 

 it increase the deer or fish as others might hope. What it will do is 

 violate the balance crafted in ANILCA between wilderness and 

 multiple use of the forest and will put aside a timber development 

 program that has worked since its inception — resulting in the 

 eventual closure of the only two year-around manufacturing plants 

 in my State. 



Rather than resist change altogether. Senator Stevens and I have 

 introduced a bill, S. 237, that we feel makes an honest effort at 

 addressing the criticisms levied against management of the Tongass 

 forest. This bill goes far and is not endorsed whole heartedly by 

 timber industry or environmental interests, but we believe it is a 

 workable compromise. The most important aspects of our proposal 

 are that it does not walk away from the commitment made by the 

 United States to the people of Southeast Alaska and it does not upset 

 the basic deal crafted by this Committee in 1980 -- that the large 

 wilderness designations in the Tongass forest would not reduce the 



