599 



The 50 year contract should not be cancelled as it 

 is one of the corner stones to this Cities economic well 

 being. 



The devestation to this city if Senate Bill 346 is 

 passed would be real and severe. Property values would 

 drop, homes could be worth less than their mortagage, 

 divorces would rise, the City would lose population and 

 on and on and on. What really thee is the issue here? 

 I believe it is one of fairness. By that I mean we have a 

 good ecomomy now, one that has taken years- of sweat and 

 toil to build up, and as the saying goes, "If it's not 

 broke why fix it?" 



Trees are a renewable resource and around here they 

 grow back naturally and very abundantly. V7e feel we should 

 harvest them as they can be used to everyones benefit, not 

 just for a few. With our rain and climate we will have a 

 balance in the forest by harvesting them and not letting a 

 resource go to waste by non-use. All of this should be 

 done in an ecological safe fashion with an eye to the future 

 generations of trees and people. 



Are jobs the only issue here? Ke think not, but what 

 is just one decent job worth to a persons self respect and 

 dignity? Our economy is strong here, but with this type 

 of loss of the timber industry, many people will be un- 

 employed. Do we want unemployment? I think notl 



Bonnie and I do not intend to leave Sitka even if by 

 some pipe dream someone manages to shut down the timber 

 industry. We are going to live here for as long as the 

 good Lord lets us. 



We feel we need a balanced ecomomy with the timber industry 

 along with fishing, mining arid tourism. All of the industries 

 can co-exist, can work in conjunction with each other and can 

 help everyone in the process. 



