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Senator Wirth. Thank you, Mr. Stone. 

 Ms. Clarke. 



STATEMENT OF MARLENE CLARKE 



Ms. Clarke. My name is Marlene Clarke of Wrangell, Alaska. I 

 am the second generation of my family born in Alaska and the 

 fourth generation of Norwegian immigrants who settled in Alaska. 

 I own and manage two businesses in Wrangell and am a current 

 member of the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce. 



I am opposed to Senator Murkowski's Senate Bill 237 as this bill 

 does not address the very important lands protection issue, the 4.5 

 million board feet or the contracts. We, as residents of Alaska, are 

 tied to Alaska's ecosystems and the misuse of Tongass National 

 Forest and its ecosystems can result in permanent damage to all of 

 the resources we depend on in southeast Alaska. 



I support Senator Wirth's Senate Bill 346 and thank you, Sena- 

 tor, for introducing it. I will support any bill that promotes sensible 

 management of the Tongass for all of its resources. I am heartened 

 to read that Senator Wirth's bill cancels the two pulp mill 50-year 

 contracts and replaces them with the same sales system used in all 

 other national forests. It also ends the congressionally mandated 

 4.5 billion board feet per decade timber supply goal and eliminates 

 the automatic $40 million subsidy. I am worried about the 23 com- 

 mercial fishery watersheds and wildlife habitat areas this bill 

 places under a temporary moratorium from logging. I would like to 

 have these areas permanently protected. If these areas cannot be 

 designated as wilderness I would like to have them designated as 

 LUD 11. Of the 23 areas the following are important to my family 

 as high use areas for commercial and sport fishing: Anan Creek, 

 Rocky Pass, No Name Bay, Noyes/ Baker and Mud Bay. 



As a business person in Wrangell I have been disheartened by 

 Wrangell Lumber Products'Cowned by AFC) attitude to the commu- 

 nity and the lack of regard its personnel have had for local opinion. 



I do not want to have logging stopped in the Tongass. I do want 

 this blatant mismanagement to cease and our natural resources 

 and ecosystems protected. Much is written of old-growth forest and 

 500 year-old trees. In our latitude, gentlemen, a seedling planted 

 now will take another 500 years to reach the size of its 500-year-old 

 brother in our old-growth forest. My newest granddaughter, born 

 in Fairbanks, will hopefully have the chance to enjoy the resources 

 of the Tongass as her parents and grandparents and great grand- 

 parents and great-great grandparents and great-great-great grand- 

 parents did. 



Thank you very much for allowing me to testify at these hear- 

 ings. I appreciate the time you gentlemen have given to resolve dif- 

 ferences of opinions regarding these bills. 



Senator Wirth. Thank you very much. I assume your grand- 

 daughter is registered to vote. [Laughter.] 



Mr. Williams? 



