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STATEMENT OF JAN ROSS, REPRESENTING ALASKA CRUISE 



LECTURES 



Ms. Ross. My name is Jan Ross and I am a 35 year resident of 

 Ketchikan. I represent the group Alaska Cruise Lectures, a group 

 of 15 women who have been in the business of lecturing on cruise 

 ships for 20 years. We accompany the ship through the Inside Pas- 

 sage to Anchorage and return, giving slide presentations on each 

 port of call and commentary from the ship's bridge on slights of in- 

 terest along the way. We mingle with the passengers to answer 

 questions and give them a view from the other side of the rail. The 

 interest in our program is probably exceeded only by mealtimes. 



Bear in mind that the majority of these people are first-time visi- 

 tors to Alaska and know only what they have read or heard and 

 they are extremely interested in our lifestyle, the wildlife, oil, fish, 

 forests and logging methods and dead trees on the hillsides and the 

 muskey areas, which some are convinced are scars left by clearcut- 

 ting. We are with these people for two solid weeks and get to know 

 those who are especially concerned about the environmental issues. 



The logging industry is an up-front concern to them because of 

 all the information in the news media, which often is based more 

 on emotions and scare tactics than on the real facts. They have 

 come with the preconceived mental pictures of a land laid naked 

 from clearcutting, of hillsides and valleys barren of trees. 



This mental picture is somewhat confirmed by what they see 

 during a portion of their trip through British Columbia. We ex- 

 plain that logging practices in Alaska are more restrictive than in 

 B.C. As the ship sails through Alaskan waters they begin to see the 

 difference and they are amazed at the hundreds of miles of heavily 

 forested hills and valleys and the lack of devastation that they had 

 heard about. They notice the lush green areas of regrowth and the 

 beauty is especially noticeable to them when compared, side by 

 side, to the old growth that is peppered throughout with dead and 

 dying trees. 



This, we take for granted, but first-time visitors with a mental 

 image of barren and scarred hillsides find it difficult to contain 

 their expressions of admiration for the unexpected beauty. They 

 begin to realize that they may have been deceived by the news 

 media and by those who would like to see Alaska one vast wilder- 

 ness area. Even the occasional bear or deer that might be spotted 

 along the beach leaves an impression on their minds, as they had 

 been led to believe that the wild animals of Alaska have been 

 driven by development to parts unknown. 



They are amazed at the immensity of the Tongass National 

 Forest. They see for themselves the vast amount of old growth 

 timber going to waste due to disease, blowdown and fires. They see 

 firsthand that the old growth forests are subject to devastating 

 fires with so many trees that are dead, dying and bone dry. They 

 realize that the economy of this country is forever losing the bene- 

 fit of this wasted timber. It becomes obvious to them, after seeing 

 firsthand, the size of the Tongass and the vastness of its trees, that 

 the present harvest level is not destroying the forests. 



Finally, near the end of the voyage many will come to us to ex- 

 press their satisfaction and joy at learning that Alaska is not being 



