602 



the reasons I moved to Sitka was because of its stable economy, a 

 feature which Fairbanks doesn't enjoy. 



I own and operate two businesses here, a civil engineering busi- 

 ness and a refuse collection business. Both of these businesses re- 

 quired a considerable investment in terms of equipment purchases 

 and were made based on the stability of Sitka's economy. 



The provisions of Senator Wirth's bill challenge the stability of 

 Sitka's economy by eliminating the contract between the Forest 

 Service and Alaska Pulp Corporation. The threat that the passage 

 of Senator Wirth's bill could cause the closure of APC is a very 

 real one to me, since I have such a great investment in the status 

 quo of the present economy. For this reason, I unconditionally sup- 

 port Senator Murkowski's Senate Bill 237. 



History has shown that Alaska's destiny has been controlled by 

 either big government or big business. If the Wirth bill is passed 

 and the two pulp mills are forced to close, the employment of 3,400 

 people and a 485 million dollar annual industry will be in jeopardy. 

 Meanwhile, in Prince William Sound, Exxon Corporation has cre- 

 ated an ecological disaster with the worst oil spill in U.S. history, 

 affecting the lives of 3,000 people and a seafood industry estimated 

 at 200 million dollars annually. Isn't it ironic that between big gov- 

 ernment and big business the two major economies of Alaska from 

 Ketchikan to Cook Inlet have the potential of being seriously 

 threatened, one in the name of environmentalism and the other in 

 spite of environmentalism? It is obvious that Senate Bill 237, spon- 

 sored by Senators Murkowski and Stevens, is the only bill which 

 offers a balance between these two disparate extremes. 



Senator Wirth. Thank you, Mr. Stragier. 



We are hanging off the edge and now moving on to Wayne Patti- 

 son. 



STATEMENT OF WAYNE PATTISON, FOREST ENGINEER 



Mr. Pattison. I am Wayne Pattison, a graduate forest engineer 

 with 12 years experience in the forest management of the Tongass 

 National Forest and another eight years as a small business owner 

 in Sitka, Alaska. I have seen the past effects of congressional med- 

 dling in what should be the professional management of our natu- 

 ral resources and I am not impressed. 



I wish to express my support for Senator Murkowski's Bill 237 

 and adamantly oppose any further Tongass Land Reform action 

 such as Senator Wirth's Bill 346. 



May I tell you a little personal story to show how irrational some 

 of the information provided by the outside preservationist group is? 

 Last week I was on Alaska Airlines in an aircraft headed to An- 

 chorage and the lady sitting beside me in the window seat gasped 

 as we headed out over the eastern channel and said, "My, God, 

 look at what the chemical disbursements and the oil spill have 

 done to this beautiful bay." She was looking at the herring spawn 

 along the shoreline. I spent the next hour and a half straightening 

 out some serious misconceptions this lady had about Alaska timber 

 harvesting and the oil spill. This lady was from northern California 

 and was a good, solid member of the Sierra Club. She had paid 

 dearly as a member of preservationists groups over the years and 



