87 



As a side bar after administrative appeals contributed to the closing of the mill in 

 Fredonia, Arizona and a subsequent announcement of the closing of the Panguitch, Utah 

 mill, the Dixie National Forest Supervisor on May 6, 1996 announced that the Forest 

 Service is seeking new purchasers to assist with vegetation management. What I ask, 

 was wrong with ones that were available? A friend wrote me from the Black Hills about 

 the announcement and said "Oh - if you're looking for a partner to build a mill and take 

 advantage of this wonderful Forest Service opportunity - please DON'T call!" Trust in 

 the situation is totally lacking. A company and their bankers would have to commit to 

 invest eight to ten million dollars to meet the needs of the Dixie Forests challenge 

 Would you invest your savings to help the government out with the specter of running out 

 of a raw material, while that material either rots or bums up in the woods under 

 administrative appeal? 



I would also like to point out that the closing of these two mills resulted in the local area 

 loosing the only entity capable of handling the volumes of material that will have to be 

 harvested to handle the current spruce bark beetle infestations on the Dixie National 

 Forest. The alternative is to have taxpayer to foot the bill and expense in order to stay up 

 with the disease, insect killed and fire destroyed trees and ecosystems. The two Kaibab 

 Forest Products Company mills could have processed a log mix of diameters ranging 

 from six(6) inches in diameter to twenty-five(25) inches. These mills were designed to 

 handle a blend of log sizes of 88% six(6) inch through sixteen(16) inches and 12% 

 seventeen( 1 7) inches and greater. 



