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fault a contract, that is being adhered to by APC, for the sake of a 

 few people who want a wilderness experience a few times a year. 



I feel that if the government takes my family's livelihood away 

 they are committing economic genocide. If this occurs, I feel the 

 government should owe not only us but all the communities affect- 

 ed with some form of economic compensation. 



I do not support any wilderness or anyone who does. As for the 

 50-year contract cancellation plan, that is an utterly contemptable 

 idea. 



Senator Wirth. Thank you. 



Mr. Gee. 



STATEMENT OF BILL GEE 



Mr. Gee. My name is Bill Gee. I am a maintenance foreman for 

 Alaska Pulp Corporation. I have been an Alaskan resident since 

 1975. I have worked in construction for about 25 years, mostly 

 short term jobs because that is the way construction usually is. 



When I came to APC in 1986 due to economic failure in Anchor- 

 £ige, Algiska, I was astounded that there was a permanent year- 

 round job seemingly suited just for me in my field. 



This brought me to relocate my family to Sitka in 1987 because 

 the future looked great. My wife quit a $36,000 per year job to be 

 with me in this grand area. I have advanced from carpenter to 

 foreman in this short period of time due to my own perseverance 

 and thanks to APC and their current policies. 



I love my job and I try to do it well, I also support Senate Bill 

 237. 



Along with working hard, I enjoy the outdoors with just as much 

 enthusiasm. I have fished and hunted this great state from Kodiak 

 to Valdez and Barrow to Sitka. Never, anywhere, have I seen wild- 

 life and sea life in such great abundance as I have seen here in 

 southeast Alaska. Past management has proven that it works. 



Now, I am angry and hurt. Certain people and factions are 

 trying to ruin my family and many other families' futures here in 

 the great land of the Tongass. 



The current Wirth legislation seems to be an issue to satisfy an 

 insatiable appetite of preservationists to meet their own desires, 

 giving little or no thought to countless cities, villages, families, and 

 businesses it would totally ruin. 



From my life's knowledge of nature, and it has been proven, all 

 things that have been cultivated, whether by God or by man, have 

 come back better, stronger, and more plentiful than with no man- 

 agement at all. 



My feelings are, if it isn't broken, do not mess with it. 



Senator Wirth. Thank you, Mr. Gee. 



Mr. Kile. 



STATEMENT OF LARRY KILE 



Mr. Kile. My name is Larry Kile. I have worked 30 years in the 

 timber industry. I do not support the Senate Bill 346 which con- 

 cerns the Tongass National Forest. If Senate Bill 346 is put into 

 law, I would be out of work. My line of work as a millwright is all I 

 know how to do. I will have to be retrained in another suitable fi- 



