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Fishermen of Alaska, the state's largest fishermen's association, is on record 

 supporting strong protection for their list of "priority fish habitat areas" 

 which include most of the Tongass moratorium areas of S . 346 . 



Despite its large size, only a small percentage (4%) of the 

 Tongass National Forest supports high-volume old growth forest greater than 

 30,000 board feet per acre in volume. The 1980 wilderness designations 

 protected an inadequate amount of this valuable, high volume old growth 

 critical for fish and wildlife habitat. Only 28 percent of areas identified 

 as high value for fisheries by the Forest Service are protected as wilderness. 

 Only 30 percent of the Forest Service list of high value wildlife areas were 

 included as wilderness in 1980. 



KEY FISH AND WILDLIFE AREAS NEED PROTECTION BEFORE TLMF REVISION. Unless 

 placed under a moratorium or permanently protected, many of the areas listed 

 in S.346 will be obligated to the two pulp mills in three five-year operating 

 plans . These operating plans will be finalized before the Tongass Land 

 Management Plan revision is completed in 1991. At the very least the 

 moratorium in S.346 will allow Congress to maintain the option of permanently 

 protecting these areas after that time. 



MORATORIUM AREAS HAVE A LONG HISTORY OF SUPPORT. The 23 areas listed for 

 temporary protection in S.346 have a long history of support both in Congress 

 and in Alaska. This history of support is summarized below: 



Original H.R. 39 Wilderness Proposal (1977): 



Chichagof (partial) 

 Yakutat Forelands 

 Young Lake 



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