259 

 Senator Wirth. Ms. Watt has joined us. Ms. Watt. 



STATEMENT OF NANCY WATT 



Ms. Watt. I apologize for my being late. I am Nancy Watt, I am 

 an Alaskan Cruise Lecturer and I support the timber industry in 

 the way it is right now. 



I can tell you it is not a threat to tourism, nor is it offensive to 

 cruise ship passengers. It has a very positive effect on the thou- 

 sands of cruise passengers I have traveled with, for the majority of 

 tourists in this part of the state come on cruise ships. 



For 17 years I have traveled on these cruises and voyages in the 

 Alaskan waters and I have personally talked to and dealt with 

 about — mingled with about 12,000 people over a long period of 

 time. Let me tell you what the typical cruise ship passenger is look- 

 ing for and hoping to find. 



First of all he wants to see beautiful wilderness and they want to 

 find a frontier lifestyle. They are saying only that, is this really 

 Alaska's last frontier for American nature and the American 

 people. Will you find wilderness? Oh, oh, my yes, they are absolute- 

 ly amazed at the millions of trees and the lack of habitation. I am 

 happy to know that the Tongass National Forest is highly regulat- 

 ed and so much of it is already in wilderness and in fact they are 

 surprised that there is so little logging done in proportion to the 

 number of trees. 



They are really interested in the American-Alaska lifestyle and 

 people and they constantly say, what do people do for a living here. 

 Happily I do not have to say about Ketchikan, they mostly work 

 for the government. I have to say, well, we are dependent on one 

 industry. In Ketchikan we can say some log, some fish, some tour- 

 ism industry and the rest of us pay for trees and sell to those who 

 do so the majority of course are cruise ship passengers and they 

 are finding different and an interesting lifestyle and the same 

 people co-exist with the wilderness they find at Tongass works out 

 very well and we hope you will too. 



Senator Wirth. Mr. Burns. 



Senator Burns. I just have one question of Mr. Begalka. 



Is the Forest Service doing a good job or have they been lax in 

 enforcing their environmental rules and regulations in those areas 

 that have been heavily logged? 



Mr. Begalka. Well, I think they have done a good job, I think — 

 well, I do not work for the Forest Service but I work for private 

 industry. 



Senator Burns. That's why I asked you. 



Mr. Begalka. Well I think our feeling is the same. By the way I 

 think they have taught a good forestry course, I do not know if 

 they still do or not but yes, I think the Forest Service has done a 

 good job. 



Senator Wirth. Thank you all very much. We are very pleased 

 to have you with us. Thank you for being here and we appreciate 

 Ms. Watt, that you were able to make it, to slide in. 



Senator Murkowski. I have one question to be directed to Mr. 

 Begalka. 



