55 



How many more forest plans for other national forests will be 12 



brought before this Committee to be tailored in a way which is 

 advantageous to preservation interests before their revisions are 

 complete? 



Reneging on contracts and a commitment to SE Alaska 



Finally, the Wirth proposal abrogates contracts with two pulp mills 

 that depend on the Tongass forest for wood fiber. While an adequate 

 study of the federal liability resulting from contract termination has 

 not been completed, the exposure to the United States could be 

 significant — possibly running into the hundreds of millions of 

 dollars. 



If the pulp mills had to close, the rest of the industry would collapse. 

 This is because 49% of the harvestable material is good only for 

 making pulp. Half the wood fiber goes to the pulp mills and half goes 

 to the saw mills. And the saw mills sell their chips back to the pulp 

 mills. We have an integrated industry built up around the pulp 

 mills. They are a critical component. 



When Congress created and the United States signed the 

 pulp mill contracts a commitment was made that the people 

 of SE Alaska have relied upon 



Before the arrival of the pulp mills Southeast Alaska did not have a 

 year-around timber industry. This is why Congress passed the 

 Tongass Timber Act in 1947 — to encourage pulp mills to locate in 

 Alaska. Keep in mind, Alaska was not even a State until 1959. 



Even with the assurance of a 50 year timber supply, the pulp mill 

 proposal for this remote territory was so risky it took years to find 

 takers. It wasn't until 1951 that the United States signed a contract 

 with Ketchikan Pulp Company to build a mill in Ketchikan. And in 

 1957 a contract was signed with Alaska Pulp Corporation, a 

 Japanese-owned company, to build a mill in Sitka. 



The 1947 Tongass Timber Act was more than enabling legislation for 

 two pulp mill contracts, it was a federal commitment to the people of 

 Southeast Alaska. Entire communities believed in and in fact were 

 built on this commitment. Many people have located their families 

 and invested in their homes and businesses in reliance on the United 

 States living up to its end of the bargain. 



Cities were established and schools and hospitals were built. 

 Families settled in and when the children reached adulthood they 

 found work in the woods and homes near their parents. I know 



