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Our bill addresses the primary criticisms against Tongass forest 

 management: 



lack of Congressional oversight and approval of spending and 



mandated harvest levels. 

 The Tongass timber program will be managed in the same way 

 timber programs are managed on all other national forests. 



Conservationists and those concerned about the deficit will 

 be satisfied but preservationists want it all for themselves 



Conservationists and those concerned with the prudence of off- 

 budget appropriations at a time when we must make hard choices to 

 address the deficit will be satisfied with our bill. 



But the preservation groups will not be satisfied - their goals are to 

 shut down the timber industry by restricting the timber supply and 

 to dedicate more of the forest to roadless non-commodity uses. 



PROBLEMS WTT H THE WTRTH RTT.I, (S. 346) 



This is precisely what Senator Wirth's bill is about - carrying out the 

 national preservation group agenda for the Tongass. 



The Wirth Bill attempts to shut down the industry through 

 cancellation of contracts and reducing the timber supply. And it 

 would remove an additional 1.7 million acres from multiple use 

 management — making old growth ecosystem protection the priority 

 use in these areas. 



Restricting the timber supply and reducing multiple use 

 lands 



If the Wirth bill should become law, it will reduce the sustained yield 

 capacity of the Tongass forest by 2.27 billion board feet per decade 

 -- a reduction of over half of the present sustained yield capacity. 

 This would deal a devastating blow to the communities of Southeast 

 Alaska critically dependent upon the timber industry. 



In addition, this proposal leaves only 37% of the entire 16.8 million 

 acres forest available for multiple uses such as timber management 

 and road access hunting, fishing and recreation. This will greatly 

 affect the future growth of the Southeast Alaska tourism industry 

 and eliminate any possibility that many isolated communities would 

 someday be connected by a road system. 



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