137 



Today, APC continues to pay the base rate of an average of $2.00 

 per thousand board feet. KPC's rates were recently raised to about $50 per 

 thousand board feet. However, In order to achieve this raise In stumpage 

 fees, the Forest Service conceded to KPC an Important and costly new contract 

 provision which allows the company to cash out inoperative road credits. The 

 net effect will be that KPC will continue to pay the lowest possible stumpage 

 fees through the life of their contract. 



Both 50-year contracts allows the pulp mills to "pick and choose" 

 areas of harvest in the high-grade stands, leaving the stands of less valuable 

 lower-grade timber. The end result is the cutting of only the best and most 

 profitable big trees, which are also the most critical fish and wildlife 

 habitat. But even that is not enough; now one of the pulp mills wants to be 

 paid to log public land. 



On January 17, 1987, APC filed a breach of contract claim against 

 the Forest Service for over $80 million, claiming the agency had not satisfied 

 the 50-year contract to supply the Sitka pulp mill with wood. In its claim 

 the corporation states that during the period of 1981-85 the Forest Service 

 denied timber selection rights, improperly withdrew timber land, and failed to 

 provide economic and competitive timber as specified in the contract. The 

 gist of the argument is that APC -- and not the Forest Service -- has the 

 right to decide where to cut timber on the public lands of southeast Alaska. 

 Furthermore, the mill argues, it deserves an $80 million "rebate" for "non- 

 economic" timber it cut in the first half of this decade. 

 Because of the contract provisions, the Forest Service claims it has no 

 discretion to decide whether or not to log areas on the Tongass. Because of 

 the contract provisions, environmental impact statements on the Tongass are 



18 



