427 



The Forest Service not only systematically plans to preclude the 

 opportunity to protect as wilderness key wildlife and fisheries habitat by 

 "pre-roading, " or building unnecessary roads that lead to nowhere; the agency 

 also hopes to liquidate high-volume old growth as expeditiously as possible. 

 Past cutting and current forest plans target a disproportionate amount of high- 

 volume old growth for logging. While TLMP called for 27 per cent of logging to 

 come from low volume stands, only about 15 per cent of industry logging has 

 come from low volume stands since 1981. High quality old growth Sitka spruce, 

 which comprises only 12 to 14 per cent of the total timber volume, has been 

 logged at twice the rate it occurs. 



The Tongass Forest cannot stand this multi -pronged attack on its 

 integrity if it is to support valuable wildlife and fisheries habitat. Many 

 significant sectors of the the economy in Southeast Alaska depend on old growth 

 forest. According to the Forest Service, 90 per cent of all salmon harvested 

 in southeast Alaska were spawned and reared in the watersheds of the Tongass . 

 Standing dead snags and trees are an essential component of the structural 

 diversity which supports nesting of 26 species of birds. The varied growth 

 rates and ages of trees found in old growth stands are key to the success of 

 deer populations. 



The importance of these natural resources to commercial fishing, tourism, 

 and subsistence economies cannot and should not be understated in the debate 

 over whether to designate key areas as wilderness. Such permanent protection 

 will ensure that these resources endure, and we urge the committee to afford 

 wilderness designation to those important areas that now are placed in a 

 moratorium by S. 346. A temporary moratorium until TLMP is revised means 

 valuable habitat is left to the whims of an agency with a proven record of 

 emphasizing tree farming and harvesting to the detriment of other resources. 



In considering this recommendation, the cocomittee should not be swayed by 

 claims that a deal is a deal, or assertions that Section 705 was a payment for 

 existing wilderness. There was no deal. Section 705 emerged after closed door 

 sessions in the final days before passage and no representatives of 

 environmental organizations participated. The existing wilderness consists 

 primarily of areas with no timber value whatsoever. The most important old 

 growth forest found in the Tongass is the biologically rich, high-volume old 

 growth which exceeds 50,000 board feet per acre in density. Less than five per 

 cent of these ancient stands is protected in wilderness. 



