447 



7 

 economically or physically unsuited for intensive commercial 

 logging. Congress enacted this "marginal lands" provision 

 specifically to address conditions like those predominant on the 

 Tongass, where steep, fragile and remote lands make economic 



13 



timber sales a virtual impossibility. 



Also important is that Title III of S. 346 extends interim 

 protection to 23 areas of the forest with "special values for 

 fish and wildlife, subsistence recreation, old growth, and other 

 resources." While the bill laudably would impose a moratorium on 

 commercial logging in these areas pending completion of the 

 revised Tongass Land Management Plan, we would strongly support 

 wilderness designation for these areas. Such an amendment would 

 conform S. 346 to companion legislation in the House (H.R. 987, 

 Title II) . 



Conservation of Old Growth Forest Ecology 



Taken as a whole, S. 346 1516 should markedly benefit 

 multiple-use values on the forest. In particular, the bill will 

 moderate the rapid liquidation of one of the world's last 

 vestiges of virgin temperate rainforest. Some old growth on the 

 Tongass features majestic Sitka spruce trees more than 200 feet 

 tall, eight feet in diameter, and 750 years old. Ancient stands 

 of spruce and western hemlock provide some of the most 

 spectacular scenery in Southeast Alaska, as well as prime habitat 



^^ See Wilkinson and Anderson, "Land and Resource Planning in 

 the National Forests," 64 Oregon Law Review 162-170 (1985). 



