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The nation's largest national 

 forest has grown into one of the 

 nation's largest resource con- 

 troversies. The media and environmen- 

 tal community have had a field day 

 with the subject. Unfortunately, to 

 many Alaskans and to the forest man- 

 agers and resource users the controver- 

 sy is founded more on emotions and 

 scare tactics than on real facts The 

 forest products industry is trying to tell 

 their side of the story to those that are 

 willing to listen, as legislation to re- 

 strict timber harvest levels looms in 

 Congress for 1989. Their theme is that 

 the "Tongass is Back." 



The list of publications that have ad- 

 vocated drastic reform of Tongass Na- 

 tional Forest management or that have 

 printed distorted, one-sided articles is 

 long: New York Times, Audubon. At- 



lanu Constitution, Alaska Magazine. 

 Outdoor Photographer, Portland Ore- 

 gonian, Sacramento Bee, Readers 

 Digest, Trailer Life. Traveler, An- 

 chorage Daily News, Backpacker, 

 Sports Illustrated, to name a few. 



Yes, that's right. Sports Illustrated 

 took many by surprise last spring 

 (1988) when it Uckled the Tongass Na- 

 tional Forest in between basketball and 

 baseball scoops. The article even 

 prompted a reply by Secretary of Ag- 

 riculture Richard Lyng. "I am disap- 

 pointed, too. that the article is so pa- 

 tently inaccurate and biased It sug- 

 gests the Forest Service should ignore 

 the requirements of the law; that is 

 should not honor the commitments to 

 contracts and to the Alaskan people: 

 and that it shoQld dismiss the impor- 

 tance of the livelihood of the Alaskan 

 residents." 



These negative articles rarely tell the 

 other side of the Tongass. The errors 

 and inaccuracies in one piece flow in- 

 to another, with no or little room for 

 countervailing opinion and philosophy. 

 Some of the main points they miss: 



1) Ninety (90) percent of the Tongass 

 National Forest will never be har- 

 vested for its trees. 



2) Two thirds of the forested land 

 within the Tongass will never be 

 harvested. The one-third that will 



be harvested will be harvested over 

 100 years. Trees are harvested on 

 a sustained-yield basis; no more is 

 cut in one year than can grow back. 



3) Annual timber payroll ($110 

 million) in Southeast Alaska ex- 

 ceeds that of fishing and tourism 

 industries. Timber represents 

 about 25% of the total regional 

 economy. It is the region's only 

 year-around industry. 



4) One third of the Tongass is 

 wilderness. There is as much good, 

 commercial timber in Tongass 

 wilderness areas as there is in the 

 programmable timber harvest 

 areas. 



5) Southeast Alaska forests reseed 

 themselves naturally and quickly 



6) There are no endangered animal 

 species in the forest. There are 

 12,000 Bald eagles in Southeast 

 Alaska. Deer bag limits have in- 

 creased in recent years in some 

 areas. 



7) Sawn wood and pulp from the 

 Tongass make thousands of pro- 

 ducts in our everyday world. Ex- 

 port 0! timber products helps im- 

 prove the balance of trade. 



8) Roads built as a result of logging 

 operations have assisted communi- 

 ty expansion and have made 

 recreational opportunities and ac- 

 cess more abundant. 



9) The timber industry has helped to 

 diversify and stabilize the regional 

 economy. 



10) The Alaska timber industry, like its 

 lower-48 counterparts, suffered its 

 worst recession from 1980-85 and is 

 now on its feet again. 



