283 



honestly depends on what the number of employment drops would 

 be and the information that we have shows that reduction in cut- 

 ting of fifty million board feet in the area would cost 400 jobs, indi- 

 rectly or directly in the industry and it states 50 percent and I 

 could not necessarily agree with that. 



Senator Murkowski. Thank you, I think it would be proper for 

 the record if the committee would review the effect of certain other 

 areas. If redwoods are taken out of the commercial forests or wil- 

 derness and what the resulting obligation of the Federal Govern- 

 ment was in regards to homes, loss of equity and so forth which at 

 that time can all be leased under the Federal Government. We did 

 not go into that and thank you Mr. Chairman. 



Senator Wirth. The committee just wants to take a stretch for a 

 minute and we thank you all very much and we will have our next 

 group be prepared to move in and ask this group — well, why do not 

 we take a stretch for about seven to ten minutes. We are about 

 halfway through this. 



[Recess taken.] 



Senator Wirth. The Subcommittee will come to order again. The 

 witnesses this afternoon, starting with the panel we have called 

 before and the next panel that will come up and take the chairs up 

 there, Mr. Littleton, Marcia Ryno, Mr. Kevin Moore, Robert Soule 

 and Dan Zink. 



Let us start with this panel. Mr. O'Dowd, speak right up. 



STATEMENT OF THOMAS L. O'DOWD 



Mr. O'Dowd. My name is Thomas L. O'Dowd, I am the Managing 

 General Partner of the Ketchikan Bowling Center. 



I and three others built this center in 1982; the cost of the Center 

 was approximately $3 million. Since that time the Bowling Center 

 has averaged approximately 50 employees per month. We have de- 

 termined that at least 50 percent of our league and nonleague 

 bowlers are employed in timber. This could be a primary or second- 

 ary type of employment and this constitutes approximately $70,000 

 a month in gross revenue. Each bowler spends approximately 

 $2,000 per year in the Bowling Center and the Bowling Center is 

 dependent on bowlers in timber-related industries in Ketchikan. 

 These include logging companies, equipment companies, construc- 

 tion companies, insurance companies and banks. 



Bowling has traditionally been a blue collar sport and in Ketchi- 

 kan more so than in most areas. We depend on those loggers, pulp 

 mill workers, related workers and their families. Bowling is a rela- 

 tively expensive sport. Without jobs they will give up on recreation- 

 al activities, including bowling. 



To conclude, when we built the Bowling Center we believed that 

 the United States Government would honor its contracts and obli- 

 gations with respect to the Tongass National Forest and to the 

 pulp mills. Otherwise we would not have made the financial com- 

 mitment to our community. It is equally certain that if the pro- 

 posed Tongass legislation is passed the Bowling Center will not be 

 able to meet those obligations and will be forced to close. 



Thank you. 



Senator Wirth. Thank you very much, Mr. O'Dowd. 



