323 



cutting down our national forests and getting the almighty dollar 

 and to heck with anything else. 



Oh, yes, and while I am at it, what is all this hullabaloo about 

 the loss of jobs? These displaced loggers can easily fmd jobs in the 

 other big Alaska industries, fishing, tourism and the ever present 

 oil field. 



Well, as I said, I would have been of this opinion but something 

 changed my mind. I moved to southeast Alaska from New Mexico. 

 I am no longer a member of the uninformed, lounge chair environ- 

 mental group. It is very easy for Joe Blow from New York City to 

 sit in his easy chair and talk about environmental concerns and 

 how his national forests are being raped and something needs to be 

 done now before the whole United States looks like New York City. 



Since moving to Alaska I have just begun to realize how vast the 

 Tongass National Forest is and what a tiny portion of it is actually 

 being logged or ever will be. I also see that the logging operations 

 are well regulated and the cutting is not just haphazard, but is well 

 planned. 



I just do not feel it is right for people to make decisions or policy 

 on matters that they do not have first-hand knowledge of. How 

 many of the legislators who will decide this issue or the environ- 

 mentalists who support it have ever been to Alaska to see first 

 hand the magnitude of this forest and the economic stability its in- 

 dustries provide the people of the Tongass? 



Are you willing to sacrifice the economic stability of Southeast 

 Alaska just to placate the lobbying efforts of the environmentalists 

 whose main support comes from the white collar Yuppies who will 

 probably never even see Alaska let alone the Tongass National 

 Forest? 



I think it is about time that Alaskans are allowed to determine 

 Alaska's future and let Coloradoans worry about Colorado and 

 their own problems with their national forests. I do not see any 

 federal legislation being proposed to stop all the commercializing of 

 their forests by the ski industry. 



I ask, Mr. Wirth, are you willing to close up a ski resort in Colo- 

 rado for every logging operation we lose here because of your legis- 

 lation? [Applause.] 



Senator Wirth. Any questions of this panel? 



[No response.] 



Senator Wirth. Thank you all very much for joining us. 



Our final group is Mr. Dick Ransdell, Mr. Greg Head, Angelo 

 Martin and Mr. Sean Harbour. 



Mr. Ransdell. 



STATEMENT OF RICHARD RANSDELL 



Mr. Ransdell. My name is Dick Ransdell and I am employed in 

 Ketchikan by a company involved in both logging and tourism and 

 have been involved in financial activities for the past 20 years. 



For a variety of reasons I am here to oppose the bill as proposed 

 by Senator Wirth. I think discussion of elimination of the long- 

 term sales would certainly affect the ability to finance the type 

 projects which were put in place with the advent of the long-tern 

 sales now in existence. I feel the government, in providing these 



