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The Forest Service should not be required to prepare for 

 harvest 4.5 billion board feet per decade 



The 4.5 billion board foot timber mandate was intended to provide 

 the necessary authority for managing marginal areas with dedicated 

 funds. However, critics claim that it resulted in wasteful timber 

 preparation when timber markets were poor and causes 

 management of the forest to favor timber production to the 

 detriment of other forest users. 



EXPLANATTON OF MURKOWSKI/STEVF.NS RTL L (S. 237) 



Criticisms can be addressed without backing away from the 

 commitment made to SE Alaska 



I'm willing to address these criticisms fairly and believe they can be 

 answered without the need for additional wilderness or statutory 

 restrictions on the Forest Service planning process. 



What I'm not willing to do is back away from the basic deal crafted 

 in this Committee in 1980 — that the large wilderness designations 

 in the Tongass forest will not reduce the timber supply below the 

 level necessary to support the Southeast Alaska timber industry. 



Senator Stevens and I have introduced a bill which eliminates both 

 the permanent appropriation of at least $40 million annually and the 

 timber supply mandate, but preserves balance between 5.4 million 

 acres of wilderness and the minimum timber base crafted by 

 Congress in 1980. 



S. 237 only requires that a minimum amount of land remain 

 in multiple use, timber harvests will be managed as on all 

 other National Forests 



Our bill only requires that a sufficient area remain in full multiple 

 use management so that 4.5 billion board feet per decade could be 

 produced on a sustained yield basis if needed . 



The actual harvest levels will be determined as they are on any 

 other national forest. The amount of timber harvested will be 

 limited by: 



1) the sustained yield capacity of forest, which takes into account 



protection of all multiple uses including fish and wildlife habitat;. 



2) the industry demand for timber; and 



3) the funds appropriated by Congress each year for timber program. 



