64 



Also imporlanlly. these national 

 pieces generally fail to mention or give 

 credence to the Tongass Land Manage- 

 ment Plan (TLMP). a master plan ihat 

 breaks the entire 16.7 million acre 

 forest into small management units, 

 subdividing parcels into areas for 

 wilderness, mostly roadless recreation, 

 mixed uses or mostly timber harvest. 

 Timber harvest is only one element of 

 the management of the National 

 Forest. The forest, by law. must be 

 managed under multiple-use principles 

 to protect fisheries, deer and bear 

 habitat, subsistence uses and recrea- 

 tion and still allow for timber harvest 

 and mineral exploration. The manage- 

 ment plan is undergoing revision, with 

 direct input from all users and 

 managers of the forest, not just the 

 timber industry. A final range of alter- 

 natives should be completed by the end 

 of the year (1989). 



Timber harvest proponents argue 

 the Tongass management plan should 

 be completed before any new legisla- 

 tion is enacted. Environmental groups 

 say the legislation will not affect the 

 management plan. Industry groups say 

 the legislation could reduce the 

 allowable cut by 30 percent. 



Most will agree that there is room for 

 change and that reform to the Tongass 

 will come in some form or another dur- 

 ing 1989-90. In that event, they agree 

 that change must use a multiple-use, 

 balanced approach to problem solving. 

 It must incorporate ideas and 

 criticisms from all forest users and 

 that the jobs which hang in the balance 

 should not be sacrificed. Forest 

 management does not need to sacrifice 

 one industry for another. The Forest 

 Service maintains there is room in this 

 huge forest for everyone. 



In 1988, the House of Representatives 

 passed the Tongass Timber Reform Act 

 (HR 1516) by an 8-to-l margin, while 

 the Senate version of the bill never 

 reached a vote. House proponents, pri- 

 marily Robert Mrazek (D-NY) and 

 George Miller (D-CA) vow to bring the 

 bill up early in 1989. Alaska's two 

 senators and its lone representative, its 

 governor and state legislators and most 

 of its newspapers have called for com- 

 promise on Tongass issues and for re- 

 jection of Congressional bills that do 

 not have a consensus of both industry 

 and environmental groups. 



At stake in Hr 1516 is the timber 

 harvest level, the amount of wilderness 



12 OUR LAND 



