207 



^n response^ 



EDITOR, Daily News: 



I am writing in response to your 

 April 20 editorial, "Character 

 assassins", in which the writer 

 objected to Bart Koehlers statement 

 that the upcoming Tongass Timber 

 Reform hearings will be stacked in 

 favor of industry. The writer 

 expressed anger "at accusations 

 besmerching (sic) the honesty and 

 integrity of Alaskans and their 

 elected representatives." 



I am one of the local people who 

 put her name in the hopper in hope 

 of being selected to speak at the 

 hearings. All that week, the Ketchi- 

 kan Daily News exhorted members 

 of the public to sign up to speak. 

 Hence, it was amazing to learn that 

 406 people had applied to speak in 

 Ketchikan. Upon calling Beth 

 Norcross at the Senate Energy 

 Committee Office in Washington, 

 D.C. I was told that until the last 

 day to register to give oral testimony, 

 75 to 100 people had applied to do 

 so. Subsequently, I heard that on 

 Friday, Senator Murkowskis office 

 in Ketchikan was provided with lists 

 of people to testify by the Ketchikan 

 Chamber of Commerce and 

 Southeast Stevedoring. Senator 

 Murkowski's Juneau office was 

 given lists by the Alaska Loggers 

 Association and Southcoast. All told, 

 the offices were flooded by 300 

 additional names. 



I telephone Senator Murkowski's 

 office in Washington, D.C. because it 

 seems to mc that the process is 

 tainted. It seemed ill-advised to 

 accept last minute lists that in- 

 creased the total number of names 

 by 300 percent. Clearly, industry did 

 stack the deck for testimony, and 

 why not? The issue could have 

 been entirely avoided by stating at 

 the outset that only requests to 

 testify on the part of individuals 

 would be accepted. 



The writer of the editorial seem- 

 "}gly objects to having those favoring 

 Tongass Timber reform express their 

 X?rc'r'^^K^"°'*''"g^boutthe 



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 Assocu.ion radio po," ^°8e«''^ 

 'h-. only ,0 perVn^f^^Tn "' 

 Na..on.l Por«. will be oggJd "Ih" 

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 a lefl lUlMid u Ibal the 10 percent 



Ketchikan Doily News, 

 Sotufdoy-Sundoy, April 22-23. 1969 



figure represents 1,750,000 acres, or 

 68 percent of the total available 

 commercial forest land, and the 

 remaining 32 percent is probably 

 uneconomic for harvest. Thirty-four 

 percent will be harvested in con- 

 junction with the two 50-year 

 contracts. Presently, one third of the 

 way through the first 100-year 

 rotation, about 40 percent of the 

 total volume available has been 

 harvested. 



In yet another case, an ALA 

 newspaper ad tells us not to worry, 

 the forest grows back after harvest. 

 However, the issue is not whether or 

 not the Tongass supports timber 

 regeneration. The issue is the fact 

 that even-aged stands destroy 

 wildlife habitat and become biologi- 

 cal deserts! have spent some time in 

 the 70 to 75 year old timber stands 

 on Prince of Wales and Heceta 

 Islands that were subjected to 

 experimental thinning, and there is 

 no undergrowth, no deer or bear 

 sign, no fur bearer sign, no bird 

 song. They provide a harbinger of 

 what is to come. Imagine thousands 

 upon thousands of acres of desolate, 

 silent forest. It is in recognition of 

 this fact that the Forest Service 

 initiated experimental thinning, in an 

 effort to open the canopy to provide 

 corridors for wildlife habitat. I want 

 my children and their children to 

 experience the ecological diversity 

 that can only be found in "de- 

 cadent" old growth stands. 



It's time to wake up and smell the 

 coffee. More insightful and respon- 

 sible news reporting would help 

 people decide what position to take. 

 As a member of SEACOPS, I support 

 Senator Murkowski's efforts to halt 

 foreign interception of salmon. As a 

 member of this community, I 

 deplore Senator Murkowski's stance 

 on logging of the Tongass. It is 

 pathetic to suggest that it is 

 unAlaskan to favor conservation of 

 our resources. 



Sincerely, 

 CHRIS RABICH CAMPBELL 



Ketchikan 



