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Questions Submitted by Senator Conrad Burns 



1) Is it the objective of Alaska Fish and Game to maximize 

 populations of all fspecies of wildlife on every acre of 

 the Tongass NF? 



No, this is certainly not our objective, nor would it 

 be possible to do so. Our management objectives or 

 goals are based on Alaska's constitutional mandate that 

 its wildlife shall be reserved to the people for common 

 use and shall be utilized and maintained on the 

 sustained-yield principle for the maximum benefit of 

 the people. 



In order to maximize benefits to the people, we rely on 

 a comprehensive planning process which is designed to 

 identify measurable population objectives by area. For 

 example, we have established management objectives for 

 about 8 moose populations in the region. These include 

 determining through a public process not only desired 

 population levels (not necessarily maximal) , hunter 

 success rates, and allocation schemes. Similarly, deer 

 plans in progress will establish desirable population 

 levels throughout much of the Tongass NF. This 

 information has been requested by the Forest Service 

 for TLMP II. In some areas of the forest where public 

 use of wildlife is low, our objectives will reflect 

 that. Major emphasis is on meeting current and future 

 public desires and demands consistent with habitat 

 capability. 



It is clearly impossible to establish meaningful 

 objectives for all species we manage. Therefore, we 

 concentrate on species of highest public interest and 

 value. This is why planning for deer and moose takes 

 precedence over planning for, say, red squirrels. This 

 is not to diminish the importance of other species to 

 the integrity of the forest ecosystem. We also clearly 

 recognize that multiple-use management of the Tongass 

 will require tradeoffs, and that wildlife values will 

 need to be compromised at certain times and places. 

 One of our objectives, however, is to inform the public 

 and decision-makers about those tradeoffs, so that the 

 impact of various forest management scenarios will be 

 understood prior to implementation. 



2) What are the effects of logging operations on the 

 Tongass on other species of birds, big game, small game 

 and fish resources? 



Old-growth is important habitat for a variety of 

 wildlife species on the Tongass including black-tailed 

 deer, brown bears, black bears, river otter, marten. 



