326 

 Senator Wirth. Mr. Head. 



STATEMENT OF GREG HEAD 



Mr. Head. Thank you. My name is Greg Head and I am Vice 

 President of Klawock Timber Alaska, Inc. My family came to 

 Alaska over 20 years ago and built a sawmill. We were encouraged 

 and assisted in this by Frank Peratrovich, a far-sighted Klawock 

 Native who envisioned year-round employment for his people. This 

 has finally come about and we are now employing 100 people in 

 the mill itself and another 150 in the woods, either building roads 

 or harvesting timber. The mill will process about 75 million feet of 

 logs this year; 90 percent of this volume is barged to the mill and 

 we also produce our own power at the mill site. 



We are 100 percent dependent on the Tongass for our raw mate- 

 rials to stay in business. Because of this dependency we have 

 always been in direct competition with the two pulp mills for logs 

 and we have been at a distinct disadvantage for getting logs. 



Now the pulp mills are able to procure a guaranteed log volume 

 with set stumpage, which influences the market and limits our 

 profitability and makes it difficult for us to compete. 



Aside from the 50-year contracts, probably the biggest hurdle for 

 us in the Tongass to overcome in our fight for existence is the 

 export by the Native Corporation. The exporting of jobs with these 

 logs was and is a mistake and it has had a severe impact on how 

 the rest of the country views the timber industry in the Tongass. 

 Like the 50-year set-asides, this also influences the market down- 

 ward. Foreign buyers, if given a choice, would rather process Alas- 

 kan logs than buy Alaskan lumber. 



We feel the long-term contracts should be cancelled and that em- 

 ployment will actually increase as a result. We feel the Forest 

 Service should be given more say in where and what should be cut. 

 They are mandated by law to consider all the various interests 

 before they allow a cut and we are confident that if permitted, they 

 would do a good job and a balanced job of managing the forest. 



We feel anyone exporting saw logs should be barred from any 

 federal timber. 



Lastly, we feel no more timber should be set aside for wilderness, 

 in fact because of the proven regenerative properties of the Ton- 

 gass we feel the Forest Service should be allowed to designate the 

 timber inside the forest. We would like any constructive efforts to 

 correct current misuse of the Tongass but that does not mean that 

 the loggers should be barred from responsible timber harvest. 



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



Mr. Martin. 



[No response.] 



Senator Wirth. Mr. Martin, are we on to you? 



STATEMENT OF ANGELO MARTIN 



Mr. Martin. I am Angelo Martin, part owner of a corporation lo- 

 cated in Ketchikan, founded in 1947 by Barney Lind. I started 

 working there in 1980 and purchased ownership in 1985. We now 

 employ eight people and the timber industry is 40 percent of our 

 business and 20 percent indirectly. 



