517 



In fact, I do not think it holds up and examines what other forests 

 have done. Does that make sense to you? 



Mr. Cronk. Well, I see what you are saying but I still feel the 

 Tongass is unique in many ways and being that it is the only 

 timber supply available for the timber industry here, for the pulp 

 mills or sawmills, I do not feel that we have the ability to re- 

 strict — well, I do not think this national forest can be handled in 

 the same manner. I do not think the independent stump sales of- 

 fered in the forest, meaning the small operational stuff, could work 

 as well in Southeast Alaska without substantially increasing the 

 raw material cost to these mills and subsequently endangering 

 their ability to operate in the world market. 



Senator Wirth. Mr. Leghorn, you said that the Tongass has the 

 lowest percentage of Forest Service funds spent on recreation. 

 Where did those numbers come from? 



Mr. Leghorn. They came from the Forest Service. About 85 per- 

 cent of the Tongass annual budget, and it has been pretty consist- 

 ent for the last number of years, is spent on the timber program 

 and about 15 percent is spent on all of the other programs: recrea- 

 tion, fish and wildlife. 



Senator Wirth. I understand that, but you said it was the lowest 

 percentage spent on recreation of any national forest. 



Mr. Leghorn. Yes. I have checked that figure with the Forest 

 Service personnel. 



Senator Wirth. Could you get for us or send in to us where those 

 data come from? 



Mr. Leghorn. I would be happy to provide that for the record. 



I would like to address your question about the issue of timber 

 regulations in the Tongass. I think it was an important one. I 

 would say that, at least in this country, the information I would 

 like to see pursued and put into the record, that perhaps the Ton- 

 gass is one of the least regulated forests in this country. As I am 

 aware, there are major sections of the 1976 Forest Practices Act 

 which are not in the forest on the Tongass and which have been 

 and are the subject of lawsuits because of that. 



Senator Wirth. Just as a final point on all of this, if we look at 

 the Tongass, and I think we also discussed this yesterday in Ketchi- 

 kan, there is in the current law a waiver of the so-called "suitabil- 

 ity requirements," whether it is economically or environmentally 

 suitable for timber. Now, those requirements exist for every other 

 national forest in the United States but they are waived for the 

 Tongass. This would suggest to me that there is probably less regu- 

 lation and probably less management, therefore, in the forest. Does 

 it suggest that to you? 



Well, I do not mean to pick on the statement you made that it is 

 one of the least-regulated forests, but I think you were probably 

 looking at that one provision of suitability, which is in there for 

 every other national forest. And for some reason, and I do not un- 

 derstand why, it was waived in the Tongass legislation. In the bill 

 which I have offered to get rid of that waiver there was wording 

 saying let us keep the Tongass consistent with the way in which we 

 treat other national forests. 



Do any of you have anything further for the good of the record? 



[No response.] 



