106 



Senator Wirth. Thank you very much. Delighted that you 

 agreed. You get the gold metal or the gold letter, whatever it is. 

 Thank you very much. 



Mr. Bacon. 



STATEMENT OF JIM BACON, UNITED FISHERMEN OF ALASKA 



Mr. Bacon. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Senator Murkowski 

 and Senator Burns. 



Thank you for coming to Ketchikan and thank you for your in- 

 terest in the Tongass National Forest. 



The United Fishermen of Alaska has on its Board of Directors 

 representatives of 23 commercial fishing organizations and three 

 at-large members. Our member organizations span from the Bering 

 Sea to Dixon Entrance and include seven major fishing groups in 

 southeast Alaska. My name is Jim Bacon and I live here in Ketchi- 

 kan. I have served on the UFA's Board as a representative of the 

 Southeast Alaska Seiners since 1986. From February of 1988 to 

 February of 1989 I served as President of United Fishermen of 

 Alaska. I am now Co-Chairman of our National Issues Committee. 

 These titles just cost me time and money. I earn my living purse 

 seining for salmon in southeast Alaska. 



Our concerns with regard to Tongass Forest Management ex- 

 press our industry's concerns and have a direct bearing on our jobs 

 and our livelihoods. The lifeblood of our commercial salmon fisher- 

 ies flows in the rivers and streams of southeast Alaska; 90 percent 

 of these salmon producing systems lie within the boundaries of the 

 Tongass National Forest. 



Much of the research on the interactions of fish in the forest has 

 been done by the U.S. Forest Service and it is thanks to their ef- 

 forts and the work of the National Marine Fisheries Service, the 

 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Alaska Department of Fish and 

 Game and others that we know as much as we do about the impor- 

 tance of streamside protection. Continued high production of 

 salmon depends on maintaining high quality habitat. With care, a 

 productive fisheries system will return salmon for harvest produc- 

 ing a positive cash flow and regional jobs with no adverse effect on 

 the land or other resources. 



The problem we run into in the Tongass is that the best of the 

 woods is the best of the woods. In many cases the highest volume 

 timber stands are found in the riparian areas, adjacent to the most 

 productive streams. Sometimes the economic viability of a timber 

 operation may depend on harvesting the largest spruce located 

 near the stream to offset the low quality hemlock harvested in the 

 upland areas. This sets the stage for the conflict that exists be- 

 tween our industries and also sets the stage for the tough decisions 

 that must be made by our resource managers, decisions that must 

 be driven by equal consideration of all the resources. We feel very 

 strongly that balanced management of all producing resources in 

 the Tongass should be legislatively identified for the Forest Serv- 

 ice. All too often management decisions are weighted by the cur- 

 rent directed timber management goals. 



The National Marine Fisheries Service Policy for Riparian Habi- 

 tat Protection calls for mandatory buffer zones of riparian vegeta- 



