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into or construct manufacturing facilities which would require 

 National forest timber. 



We are very concerned about the proposed changes in Section 705 of 

 ANILCA. It is imperative that the 4.5 billion board foot cut per 

 decade not be diminished. Given that roughly 300 million board 

 feet per year is tied up in the long term sales that only leaves 

 150 million board feet for the rest of the industry. Our 

 harvesting capacity alone (150-200 million b.f./year) is greater 

 than that. Instead of talking about diminishing the cut below 450 

 million b.f./year, we should be figuring out ways to increase the 

 cut above this level. 



What most people do not realize, and what the anti-timber faction 

 will not recognize is that there is a fundamental change taking 

 place in the industry in Southeast Alaska. As old growth white 

 woods, such as hemlock and spruce, found on the Tongass become 

 increasingly scarce, demand is going to rise (and already has 

 risen) significantly. The Japanese market pays a large premium for 

 these clear, fine grained woods and they are disappearing from the 

 competitive areas of Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. The 

 industry is realizing that Southeast Alaska is the last bastion of 

 this scarce material. Even the giant Weyerhaeuser Company, which 

 for many years did not express any interest in Southeast has 

 already participated in two (2) ventures and is reportedly looking 

 at others. 



