204 



1 ^ TTTF* 

 ROFESSIQNAL 



llli W SOCIETY OF AMERICAN FORESTERS 



-V^ 



MOO Gnmenor Lwe • Bethesda, Maryland 20814 • (301) 897-8720 



Sim'iMENT OF 



WILLIAM H. BANZHAF 



EXECUTIVE VICE ERESIESin' 



SOdEIY OF AMEiaCAN PQPESTERS 



BEPCRE THE 



SUBCXl«aTIEE CK roBLIC IAND6, NATICNAL PARKS, AND FORESTS 



OMirnEE CN HffiKOT AND NAIURAL RESOURCES 



U.S. SEHAH: 



CN 



S. 237 AND S. 346 REGARDING 



THE TCNGASS NATIONAL FOREST 



FEBRUARY 28, 1989 



Mr. Chcdznan and nenlaers of the Subcmmittee, iny name is William H. 

 Banzhaf . I am the Executive Vicae-President of the Society of American 

 Foresters. I appear before you on be^icilf of SAF's 20,000 members who 

 represart an segments of the forestry profession inclijding private and 

 public practitioners, researchers, eidministrators, educators, and forestry 

 students. The Society wishes to thank the members of the Subconmittee for 

 your ccntirued interest in the manctgement of the Tongass National Forest, a 

 forest that contains seme of the most valuable oanmodity and non-cotmodity 

 natural resourtses in the nation. 



As you are well aware, the currertt debate over the Tongass has 

 gaierated considerable controversy over viAiat ccxistitutes professional 

 maneigement of the Forest's 16.7 million acres. The Society is troubled that 

 professional resource management decisions are often perceived to favor one 

 use over another when, in fact, those decisiois eire legislatively mandated 

 eind based on sound biological, eooncmic, cind social information. The 

 Society continues to believe that land-use eillocation df isions for the 

 Tongeiss nust be made after a thorou^ study of various social and biological 

 benefits and oasts. These varieibles will be identified in the revised land- 

 management plan, ii^ch is scheduled for ocnpletion by December 1989. 



The Society reocnmends that Congress tate no further action on the 

 Tongass legislation until the revised plan is corpleted. In addition, the 

 Society has reocnmaxled that the Forest Service develop specific land- 

 mancigeoient planning etltematives independent of existing Alaska National 

 Interest Iruids Conservation Act 1980 (ANII£A) criteria. This allows the 

 land-use planning process to work more effectively by enabling the Forest 

 Service to look beyond the current program and land-use mandates set by 

 Congress. 



• 



Uiting the Scientific Knowledge and Technical Skills of the Forestry Profession to Benefit Society 



