470 



The creation of jobs, the opportunity to develop viable 

 industries in the region and protection of the environment are 

 all clear priorities for our future. 



I wish to make clear that the coalition strongly supports 

 the existence of a viable timber industry in Southeast. We 

 recognize that logging plays a major role in providing jobs 

 and income to residents throughout the region 



At the same time, we insist that our home-based industries 

 accept full responsibility for the impact of their operations on 

 the environment. Proper safeguards must be put in place to 

 ensure harvesting takes place safely and in an 

 environmentally acceptable manner. 



Toward resolving these conflicts and addressing the 

 issues I have raised today, we urge Congress to execute the 

 following actions prior to making any decision on the 

 Tongass: 



First, we ask that this committee recognize the issue of 

 land entitlements which has been raised and determine the 

 potential for discussing the issue in future deliberations. 



Second, we ask that Congress open a viable and 

 structured dialogue for discussions of this issue; and 



