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 Jeffrey Sloss> Alaska Discovery April S<», 1989 



proceed." Blackwell went on to explain that Section 705 of 

 ANILCA compelled the agency to offer so much new timber 

 volume each year > regardless of the marketability. 



3) Alaska Discovery has conducted fishing and wildlife 

 viewing adventures in the Yakutat Forelands area - an area 

 initially considered for Wilderness designation under 

 ANILCA, it is currently scheduled for large-scale reading 

 and clearcutting using Tongass Timber Supply Fund dollars. 

 This area holds tremendous values as a roadless fishing* 

 wildlife and recreation area which would be lost if the 

 subsidized logging was to proceed. However, while sec. 705 

 of ANILCA remains in effect, Alaska Discovery cannot commit 

 the additional marketing and equipment investment needed to 

 sustain commercial operations on the Yakutat Forelands. 



Alaska Discovery depends on many of the S3 areas listed 

 in S. 346 such as: Berners Bay, Chichagof , Kadashan, Trap 

 Bay, Yakutat Forelands, Pleasant and Lemesurier Islands and 

 the Pt . Adolphus-Mud Bay area. In fact, the Pt. Adolphus 

 area, the gateway to Glacier Bay National Park, is now our 

 most popular trip in the Tongass. 



Current Wilderness withdrawals cannot, in many ways, 

 support the visitor industry because they consist largely of 

 inaccessible icefields and mountains. Only 9 percent of the 

 highest volume old growth of the Tongass is designated as 

 Wilderness. Alaska Discovery tried for 5 years to market 

 summertime icefield cross-country skiing trips, and still 

 operates a few mountaineering classes to local residents. 

 The three fourths of the designated Wilderness in the 

 Tongass that is rock, ice, and muskeg no doubt has it's 

 charm, but the vast number of visitors want to see the grand 

 old growth forest and the wildlife populations which have 

 made the Tongass famous. 



Too many outfitters, wilderness lodges, fishing and 

 hunting camps, private boaters and campers, and tour 

 operators are attempting to squeeze into the relatively few 

 unspoiled areas which remain in the forest. Our company 

 believes that Congress must recognize that current 

 wilderness designations on the Tongass do not protect enough 

 of the key wildlife and recreation use areas from large- 

 scale timber operations. Therefore it is vital that S. 346 

 be strengthened to grant permanent protection as wilderness 

 for the S3 key areas listed in the bill. 



A 1986 study conducted by the Forest Service t the 

 Alaska Division of Tourism surveyed all of the Tongass— 

 permitted outfitters, lodges, charter operators and 

 recreation businesses in southeast Alaska. When asked what 



