593 



Being in the business of attempting to augment the salmon har- 

 vest, I am not in favor of the continued subsidy of and lack of suffi- 

 cient constraints on the timber industry, whose impact on the fish- 

 eries is directly counter to what we are trying to achieve. Massive 

 clearcutting significantly reduces the ability of a watershed to mod- 

 erate fluctuations in both the flow and temperature of the runoff, 

 resulting in susceptibility of the salmon spawning and rearing 

 streams to the extremes of flood and drought and freezing and ex- 

 cessively high temperatures. In addition, increased siltation of in- 

 shore marine waters resulting from clearcutting can have a delete- 

 rious impact on the survival of our hatchery fry as well as the wild 

 salmon runs as they head out to sea. 



Personally, I have chosen to live in southeast Alaska because of 

 the proximity of wilderness with its stunning beauty and unparal- 

 leled recreational opportunities. I spend a lot of my free time 

 hiking, kayaking, skiing and hunting. I want to be sure that the 

 Forest Service is able to give the recreational and aesthetic uses of 

 the Tongass the priority that they deserve, instead of being locked 

 into a rigid mandate to promote logging. 



Finally, I would like to express my disappointment that the com- 

 mittee did not choose to hold hearings also in Juneau, by far the 

 largest center of population in southeast Alaska, where literally 

 thousands of people who use the Tongass heavily hold passionate 

 views on the current mismanagement of the National Forest and 

 where this committee would have heard testimony overwhelmingly 

 in support of Senator Wirth's bill. 



Thank you for allowing me to testify. 



Senator Wirth. Thank you, Mr. Watson. 



Mr. Harang. 



STATEMENT OF GORDON HARANG, ARROWHEAD TRANSFER, INC. 



Mr. Harang. My name is Gordon Harang. I am President of Ar- 

 rowhead Transfer, Inc., which operates throughout southeastern 

 Alaska with facilities in Ketchikan, Craig, Petersburg, Juneau, and 

 Sitka. 



Our company employs approximately 75 people on a year around 

 basis, and several additional people seasonally. 



I am strongly opposed to S. 346 for, several reasons. The bill is 

 unfair, unnecessary, and would cause extreme hardship on all of 

 southeastern Alaska. 



I would estimate that without a healthy timber industry our 

 company would employ 40 percent to 50 percent less people. With- 

 out a healthy timber industry our property tax base would be dev- 

 astated. We would have to pay greatly increased taxes to maintain 

 the level of services we now enjoy. These increased costs spread 

 over a much reduced volume of business would equate to much 

 higher transportation costs in southeastern Alaska. 



These are only two of many factors which would have an ex- 

 tremely negative impact on the entire area. These things impact 

 everyone, not just loggers, pulp mill people, and business people. 

 They affect everyone living in southeastern Alaska, and many from 

 outside Alaska who earn their livings supplying goods and services. 



