118 



of my own small business and as a fisheries technician for the 

 Alaska Department of Fish and Game. 



In southeast Alaska, commercial fishing, tourism, subsistence 

 and timber all depend on use or harvest of forest resources. Each of 

 those elements of our economy are dependent industries. Unfortu- 

 nately, our economy is presently in conflict with itself since logging 

 on the Tongass is underlining both its own timber base and the re- 

 source base of the other significant elements of the regional econo- 

 my. 



SEACC's position is based on what we perceive to be the mini- 

 mum action necessary to protect the basic economic and environ- 

 mental integrity of the forest. We have advocated this position 

 forcefully and forthrightly since about 1982. 



Our position has three parts. First, the Tongass cannot be prop- 

 erly and fairly managed under a Congressionally-dictated harvest 

 goal. This has been amply demonstrated over the past nine years. 

 The 4.5 billion board foot per decade harvest goal must be repealed 

 and replaced by management based on the professional judgment 

 of the Forest Service. That can only be done if S. 346 is passed. 



In addition, the $40 million automatic fund should be replaced by 

 annual appropriations. I think we agree on that. 



Second, SEACC supports permanent protection of key areas 

 through designation as wilderness or other special designation by 

 law. This would protect vital resources supporting critical segments 

 of the region's economy. 



Currently, 70 percent of the high value fish and wildlife habitat 

 areas in the Tongass remain without permanent protection from 

 logging and roads. This protection is especially vital to the commu- 

 nity stability of many rural villages threatened by large scale log- 

 ging and road building projects. 



At this time, Mr. Chairman, I would like to present for the 

 record letters from eight communities in our region, a statement 

 from the United Fishermen of Alaska, and a press release from the 

 Southeast Conference, which all support strong protection of key 

 watersheds. ^ 



Mr. Edwards. S. 346 provides only temporary protection for key 

 fish and wildlife areas. We have lost faith in the ability and the 

 will of the Forest Service to fairly manage this forest, and we feel 

 temporary moratorium would be nothing more than a stay of exe- 

 cution for those areas. SEACC supports an amendment to S. 346 to 

 permanently protect the areas listed. 



If all 23 areas in S. 346 were granted permanent protection, the 

 legislation would reduce the timber base by only 11 percent. This 

 still provides enough timber for industry to continue at current 

 levels and even to expand. 



Third, the 50-year contracts form the root of Tongass manage- 

 ment problems. Only this national forest is saddled with 50-year 

 monopoly contracts, so different from the normal three to five-year 

 timber sales in other forests. 



The contracts tie up two-thirds of the Tongass timber and sell it 

 at bargain prices. They allow high grading and severely strict man- 



' Material submitted was retained in subcommittee files. 



