160 



Enacting S. 346 would have the following consequences: 



o It would facilitate better planning and management 

 for both timber and non-timber resources on the 

 Tongass. 



o It would allow the Forest Service to manage the 

 Tongass' vast resources to fully support the 

 fishing and tourism industries that are threatened 

 by logging. Salmon fisheries and scenic beauty, 

 important non-timber resources and subsistence 

 rights of Southeast Alaskan residents would no 

 longer be subordinate to timber. 



o Future timber harvest goals would be set according 

 to the best available information, consistent with 

 the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) . 



o Future Tongass timber budgets would be consistent 

 with the fiscal priorities of the nation. 



Enacting S. 346 would simultaneously save taxpayer dollars, 

 protect environmental quality, and enhance the long-term 

 prosperity and stability of the region. 



The other measure pending before the Committee, S. 327, is 

 completely without merit. It distorts the necessary reforms for 

 the Tongass. In fact as we explain below, S. 327 would lock in 

 the status quo, preclude a timber program based on the best 

 available information and consistent with the NFMA, increase the 

 pressure on scarce wildlife and fishery resources, and damage the 

 regional economy. If enacted, S. 327 would not only frustrate 

 the reform movement on the Tongass, it would convert the forest 

 into a single use tree farm sacrificing one of the last largely 

 intact rain forests in the world's temperate latitudes. 



The Tinber Economy of Southeast Alaska 



Southeast Alaska is a 500-mile panhandle running along the 

 Pacific Ocean. Its spectacular natural beauty, waterways and 

 fjords, coastal rain forests, glaciers, and abundant fish and 

 wildlife are world renowned. In this area, somewhat larger than 

 South Carolina, there are only 60,000 residents. Approximately 

 70 percent live in three cities — Juneau, Ketchikan and Sitka. 



In 1983, there were slightly more than 31,000 full-time 

 equivalent jobs in southeast Alaska. With the state's capital, 

 Juneau, located in the region, government jobs account for about 

 35 percent of employment. Although the region was settled by fur 

 traders and gold miners, industries dependent on the extraction 

 of these commodities no longer dominate the economy. 



