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STATEMENT OF KEN LEGHORN, TONGASS TOURISM AND 

 RECREATION BUSINESS ASSOCIATION 



Mr. Leghorn. I am from Juneau and have 11 years in tourism. 



The Tongass Tourism and Recreation Business Association is a 

 coalition of over 90 businesses involved with tourism and outdoor 

 recreation in Southeast Alaska. Each company has recently agreed 

 to the following position statement in support of Tongass reform 

 legislation: 



The Tongass Tourism and Recreation Business Association be- 

 lieves that in order to achieve balanced management of the Ton- 

 gass National Forest, the U.S. Forest Service must be relieved of 

 constraints imposed on it by ANILCA, Section 705(a), and by the 

 two 50-year timber contracts with the pulp mills. We also recognize 

 the importance of key fish and wildlife and scenic areas which are 

 now protected, and believe that further designation of selected 

 lands for permanent protection on the Tongass National Forest is 

 desirable. Therefore, the Tongass Tourism and Recreation Business 

 Association supports the Tongass Timber Reform Act and associat- 

 ed legislation which may be introduced. 



The 90 businesses who support reform legislation include lodges, 

 fishing charters, retail stores, outfitter/guides, air taxi companies 

 and a variety of other businesses from towns such as Ketchikan, 

 Wrangell, Sitka, Juneau, Angoon, Pelican, Haines and Yakutat. 

 What we share in common is a commitment to the long-term eco- 

 nomic health of our region, including a diversified economy. We do 

 not believe Senator Wirth's bill is anti-development, nor antilog- 

 ging, nor is it strictly environmental legislation. Rather, we regard 

 the Tongass Timber Reform Act as giving all industry in Southeast 

 Alaska the same fair treatment and the same chance to compete. It 

 is time to stop pampering the pulp mills with unfair contracts and 

 to stop subsidizing the destruction of the best places this forest has 

 left. 



Tourism here is a sunrise, not a sunset, industry. Our businesses 

 are growing. Many of us pay 3 percent of our annual gross revenue 

 into the Federal treasury for operating on public lands. We can 

 continue to grow for decades to come, and continue to pay our way, 

 but we cannot support having 85 percent of Tongass management 

 funding to only aid one industry, especially an industry that is at 

 odds with ours when it involves clearcutting coastal virgin forests. 

 The Tongass currently spends the lowest percent of management 

 funds on recreation than any other region in the country. Let the 

 timber program here compete with other user groups and industry 

 programs and give our businessmen a chance. 



Finally, we urge you to realize that the same key areas for fish 

 and wildlife protection that are important to the fishing and con- 

 servation communities are also extremely important to the future 

 growth of tourism in this region. The 23 areas listed in Senator 

 Wirth's bill all need permanent protection. A temporary moratori- 

 um will not give tourism businesses the investment protection they 

 need in order to begin marketing and operating trips to these 

 areas. A 1985 tourism study found that the majority of operators 

 feel very positive about the influence of wilderness designations on 

 the Southeast tourism industry and their own personal businesses 



