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TESTIMONY BEFORE SENATE ENERGY SUBCOMMITTEE 



by 



ELAINE SUNDE, PRESIDENT 

 SITKA RETAIL MERCHANTS' ASSOCIATION 



My name is Elaine Sunde. I am testifying as president of the Retail 

 Merchants' Association of Sitka. Additionally, I am speaking on 

 behalf of myself and my husband, co-owners of a small retail gift 

 store in Sitka, Alaska. 



You are visiting the largest National Forest, located within the largest 

 State in the Nation. The immensity of the Tongass and the incredible 

 size of Alaska are paralleled only by the massive political drive 

 which has been generated to determine our future. And yet, as you 

 have seen, this community, which lies in the direct path of the so- 

 called "Tongass reform movement," is very small. The anxiety and 

 fear now being experienced by our individual residents must seem 

 even more insignificant. In fact, we feel ourselves to be lost entirely 

 in the immensity of generalizations which are being voiced about 

 management of the Tongass. 



I believe, however, that there is a value in our small community 

 which merits the recognition and the protection of the United States 

 Congress. My testimony is intended to assist you in this effort to 

 recognize and appreciate our situation. 



Let me point out a few interesting facts about the retail business 

 community in Sitka: 



1. If you walk from one end of our town's main street to the other — 

 and take time to look up each side-street as you walk — every single 

 business you pass by is owned and personally operated by a local 

 citizen. Every single one. 



2. Secondly, if you decide to stop in and say "hello" to the people in 

 these small shops, you will discover that three-fourths are either 



