316 



and the other half is in the Forest Service, Tongass National 

 Forest. 



Southeast Alaska is home to three generations of my family. 

 Both my father and myself have felled timber and supervised cut- 

 ting crews in the Tongass for a total of 31 years between us. In the 

 early days regulations and rules governing logging and cutting 

 practices were few. Today the Tongass is managed with the future 

 in mind. Everything from the placement of roads to the protection 

 of fish streams are taken into account before the first tree is felled. 



Is is very easy to pick up a magazine or newspaper to read an 

 article or look at pictures that show or tell the negative aspects of 

 logging. Important decisions such as the ones facing us now need to 

 be addressed with all the facts. 



We invite you to go out into the forest and look for yourselves. 

 Where my father first felled timber the regrowth is 40-50 feet tall, 

 a healthy stand of timber that 60 years from now someone will un- 

 doubtedly be trying to turn into a wilderness area. It should not 

 take anyone very long to realize that the single best use of this 

 land is growing trees. 



We are committed to this land not on a short term but for our 

 children and beyond. The Tongass has a crop growing on it that is 

 an extremely valuable and renewable resource. We do not want all 

 of the timber to log nor do we want more wilderness. We have a 

 good management system now; to change this on the eve of the 

 next Tongass Land Management Proposal is not in the best inter- 

 ests of the Tongass. To terminate the long term contracts will not 

 do anything but cripple the healthy economy of southeast Alaska 

 and disrupt the lives of many people. 



Thank you. 



Senator Wirth. Thank you very much, Mr. Byron. 



Mr. Robinson. 



[No response.] 



Senator Wirth. Pauline Green. 



STATEMENT OF PAULINE GREEN 



Ms. Green. Thank you. 



My name is Pauline Green and I support the Stevens-Murkowski 

 Senate Bill 237. I think it unrealistic to stamp case closed on our 

 logging, jeopardizing our economy by adding more wilderness to an 

 already vast established area. I prefer to stay off the government 

 hand-out rolls and earn my living. 



Yes, I believe in preservation but I believe in people preservation 

 first. 



I have lived 35 years in logging communities and have seen 

 many positive lifestyle changes. 



We established homes, schools instead of correspondence courses 

 and churches. Scholarships are offered students by Alaska Loggers. 

 Opportunities have opened, not previously available, due to the 

 inter-related businesses in our area. 



Senator Wirth, you have children. Did it ever occur to you fresh 

 produce, fruits and milk were not commonplace on the table? 

 Transportation has changed that. Surely as a parent you can un- 

 derstand those priorities. 



