592 



I would also like to see the 23 areas listed in the bill protected so 

 that they continue to support life in abundance, specifically our 

 deer. 



The impact of present cutting has already disturbed five major 

 salmon rivers in the Hoonah area and threatens many more. Hill- 

 sides cannot handle the rain run-off. This makes the rivers run 

 hard with a real muddy sediment. This disturbance of the salmon 

 spawn in these rivers and the state regulations are making it very 

 difficult for the Hoonah fisherman. 



The state limits our fish time. For what? Preservation? While, on 

 the other hand, cutting is affecting the spawn and potential runs. 

 This does not make any sense to me. Are there two governing 

 bodies here that do not know what the other is doing? The U.S. has 

 to be the only place in the world that regulates the fishermen to 

 throw marketable fish back into the ocean, that are usually dead 

 anyway. This waste is causing a severe economic setback for the 

 fishermen. 



The salmon rivers and the habitat provided by the old growth 

 timber and the rain forest are so important to us. I find it hard to 

 believe that the Tongass National Forest destruction is being subsi- 

 dized just to serve a few economically without really serving the 

 state or the nation. 



I have a letter I brought from Hoonah called "Subsistence Users 

 of Hoonah Want to be Heard." This letter is signed by over 70 

 people, many of whom are boat captains, who have very strong 

 feelings of the seven areas mentioned for permanent protection. 



Thank you for this opportunity to testify. 



Senator Wirth. Thank you very much, Mr. Bean. 



Senator Murkowski? 



Senator Murkowski. Just very briefly, I would like to ask Mr. 

 Bean: The rivers in question, do they not come in at the area of the 

 tidelands controlled by the Hoonah Native Association land selec- 

 tion? 



Mr. Bean. For the most part, yes. 



Senator Murkowski. Thank you. 



Senator Wirth. Mr. Watson. 



STATEMENT OF R. BARTLETT WATSON, ARMSTRONG-KETA, INC. 



Mr. Watson. My name is Bartlett Watson. I am the Executive 

 Director of Armstrong-Keta, Inc., which owns and operates a pri- 

 vate sector salmon hatchery on the southern end of Baranof Island 

 at Port Armstrong. I have lived in Alaska for 15 years, the past 

 eight years in southeast. Currently I am a resident of Juneau, 

 where Armstrong-Keta maintains its administrative offices. 



I am here today to testify on behalf of both my corporation and 

 myself in support of Senator Wirth's Tongass Timber Reform Bill, 

 S. 346. 



Our hatchery exists under state law for the benefit of the com- 

 mercial fishing industry, an industry significantly larger than the 

 timber industry in southeast Alaska. There is no question that the 

 quantity of clearcutting and road building activity currently 

 planned for the Tongass will have a significantly negative impact 

 on the productivity of wild salmon streams in this region. 



