586 



of one resource, with little financial gain to the nation and great 

 cost to other resources. 



I support S. 346. I think it answers some of the problems. Local 

 populations have increased with more development of fishing and 

 tourism. The pressure on the Tongass is so great now that we must 

 look at the whole of southeast Alaska in an attempt to determine 

 its fate. Areas must be protected for their foremost value. As wild 

 lands become more raped they become more precious. In the past 

 we looked at wild lands as empty lands that should be developed; 

 today we know the biological base they provide to our fisheries and 

 environment. What they produce we cannot come anywhere near 

 to imitating, with our bureaucratic, inefficient systems. We must 

 provide permanent protection to key wildlife habitat areas, like 

 Anan Creek and South Etolin Island. Their long term benefits are 

 too great for any other use of the resource to be economical. 



The harvest mandate currently in place is placing intense pres- 

 sure on the forest and it may destroy it. This harvest figure is no 

 longer appropriate. It was computed at a time when there was 

 more wood available and less alternate uses of the ecosystem. 



Thank you. 



Senator Wirth. Thank you very much, Ms. Else. 



[The prepared statement of Ms. Else follows:] 



Prepared Statement of Page Virginia Else 



I am the editor of a publication entitled "A Manual for Oyster Farmers in 

 Alaska"; published by the Sea Grant Program and the State of Alaska. I am cur- 

 rently living in Sitka and working on a mariculture research project. Mariculture is 

 a subject of controversy in Alaska. Many environmentalists oppose it because they 

 feel there are insufficient sites available. Fishermen oppose mariculture because 

 they feel their livelihood is threatened by it. But in this controversy lies the first 

 point I would like to make to this committee. The Tongass should be managed for 

 multiple resource use. We must achieve balance. 



Current management is biased towards rape of one resource, with little financial 

 gain to the Nation, and great cost to other resources. 



The Tongass is presently being managed by an economic scheme that may have 

 been very appropriate 20 years ago but is no longer economically beneficial today. 

 Local populations have increased with more development of fishing, tourism, mining 

 and other forms of industry. This changes the relative value of the Tongass re- 

 sources. The pressure on the Tongass is so great now that we must look at the 

 whole of Southeast Alaska and attempt to determine its fate. Areas must be selected 

 and protected for their foremost value. As wildlands become more rare, they become 

 more precious. In the past we looked at wildlands as empty lands that should be 

 developed. Today we know the biological base they provide to our fisheries and envi- 

 ronment. What they produce we can't come anywhere near to imitating, with our 

 beauracratic inefficient systems. We must provide permanent protection to key wild- 

 life habitat areas, like Anan Creek and South Etolin Islands, where I have traveled. 

 Their long-term benefits to us is too great for any other use of the resource to be 

 economical. The harvest mandate currently in place is placing intense pressure on 

 the forest, and it may destroy it. This harvest figure is no longer appropriate. It was 

 computed at a time when there was more wood available and less alternate uses of 

 the ecosystem. 



I have lived in several of the towns in S.E. Alaska and my friends include loggers, 

 fisherpeople, environmentalists, and business people. Some of these loggers would 

 have liked to have had their own businesses, but feel they were forced out of busi- 

 ness by the big corporations. It costs this nation more to prepare a timber sale than 

 it gains. Two-thirds of our timber is sold without competitive bidding. I don't believe 

 this is good capitalism. The longterm contracts should be abolished. Timber should 

 be managed as a normal business, controlled by the market and economic condi- 

 tions, not supported by an artificial subsidy. This actually results in undervaluing 

 the resource. In our rush to maintain the status quo we sell timber at a loss. The 

 timber supply in the world is steadily decreasing. Holding on to our timber is a good 



