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THE ALASKA DELEGATION BILL . It would be wrong to say 

 that the timber industry is happy about the proposed loss of the 

 intensive management monies being provided through the Tongass 

 Timber Supply Fund. We are concerned that we will fight the 

 Tongass battle year in and year out in front of the Appropriations 

 Committees as a result of this change. However, we have been 

 working on this legislation long enough in Washington to realize 

 that in a time of budget cuts for the rest of the country, the 

 actual Tongass appropriation is going to have to be treated like 

 every other National Forest. Accordingly, we support the proposal 

 made by our Delegation, notwithstanding our concerns. 



The Alaska Delegation bill proposes mid-course correction 

 in the Tongass program, but does not "throw out the baby with the 

 bath water." It allows continuation of the Tongass Land Management 

 Plan, which has been ongoing for two years and on which the 

 government has already spent $3.7 million. It is, thus, clearly 

 far superior to every other piece of legislation that has been 

 proposed. 



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