CSHJR 55(RES): Relating to the importance to the economy of Southeast Alaska of continued timber harvests on the Tongass National Forest.
00CS FOR HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 55(RES) 01 Relating to the importance to the economy of Southeast Alaska of continued 02 timber harvests on the Tongass National Forest. 03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 WHEREAS the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) and the 05 Tongass Land Management Plan define multiple use objectives for the Tongass National 06 Forest; and 07 WHEREAS, according to the Multiple Use Sustained Yield Act of 1960, national 08 forest land is to be managed for a sustainable yield of various resources including water, fish, 09 wildlife, and timber; and 10 WHEREAS these goals are currently being achieved on the Tongass National Forest 11 due to wilderness land use designations, stream buffers, view corridor protection, and timber 12 management; and 13 WHEREAS regeneration on harvested land in the Tongass National Forest has 14 demonstrated that second growth yields can reach the 23,000 board feet per acre necessary to
01 sustain a harvest of 450,000,000 board feet per year as designated in the Tongass Land 02 Management Plan; and 03 WHEREAS, in recent years, timber sales on the Tongass National Forest have been 04 significantly reduced so that far less than 450,000,000 board feet are available; and 05 WHEREAS the timber industry of Southeast Alaska utilizes resources of the Tongass 06 for commercial fisheries, recreation, tourism, mining, and timber harvest; and 07 WHEREAS the economy of Southeast Alaska is stable, has enabled the use of long-term bond financing for public 08 service, and has attracted significant private capital investment; 09 and 10 WHEREAS the timber industry of Southeast Alaska was developed based upon an 11 expected annual harvest level of 450,000,000 board feet; and 12 WHEREAS Tongass National Forest timber resources accounted for about 2,500 of 13 the annual average 3,600 private sector jobs directly generated by the forest products industry 14 in Southeast Alaska in 1992, the last year for which accurate figures are available; and 15 WHEREAS the forest products industry in Southeast Alaska accounted for 24 percent 16 of basic industry employment (including government), and 34 percent of all private basic 17 industry employment, in 1992; and 18 WHEREAS workers in the forest products industry in Southeast Alaska, including 19 loggers, road builders, stevedores, sawmill workers, and pulp mill workers earned 20 approximately $146,000,000 in wages and salaries during 1992; and 21 WHEREAS forest products industry employment in Southeast Alaska has declined 22 sharply since 1990, marked by the loss of $18,000,000 in payroll and more than 600 jobs, due 23 to reduced timber harvests on the Tongass and the near completion of the first harvest on 24 private land; and 25 WHEREAS the United States Congress in 1980 enacted the Alaska National Interest 26 Lands Conservation Act, which includes provisions designating 5,400,000 acres of the Tongass 27 National Forest as part of the Wilderness Preservation System, and thus closed that land to 28 timber harvest; and 29 WHEREAS an increase in the availability of timber for harvest on the Tongass 30 National Forest could offset the lack of production of timber from private land and maintain 31 the economic well-being of Southeast Alaska; and
01 WHEREAS a decline in the availability of timber to harvest on the Tongass National 02 Forest will continue to cause the loss of jobs in the timber industry in Southeast Alaska and 03 will significantly impair the economic well-being of the area as many communities are totally 04 or otherwise very dependent on the timber industry as the sole or one of the largest employers 05 in the community; and 06 WHEREAS the United States Congress in 1990 enacted the Tongass Timber Reform 07 Act, thus closing an additional 1,100,000 acres of land to timber harvest through wilderness 08 designations and management practices; and 09 WHEREAS timber availability is critical to the health of the forest products industry 10 in Alaska, and the availability of timber in the Tongass National Forest will likely determine 11 the future of the forest products industry in Alaska; and 12 WHEREAS the United States Congress controls the level of timber harvesting in the 13 Tongass in part through the budget process and by these land designations acts; and 14 WHEREAS the United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, manages the 15 Tongass National Forest and determines the availability of timber for harvest on the land not 16 closed to timber harvest; 17 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the United 18 States Congress to review the economic impact on the Southeast Alaska economy and the 19 forest products industry of the wilderness designations imposed by the Alaska National Interest 20 Lands Conservation Act of 1980, and the wilderness designations and changes in management 21 practices mandated by the Tongass Timber Reform Act of 1990; and be it 22 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the 23 United States Congress to increase the amount of timber available for harvest in the Tongass 24 National Forest; and be it 25 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the 26 United States Congress to provide sufficient funding to the United States Department of 27 Agriculture, Forest Service, to facilitate offering for harvest the maximum amount of Tongass 28 timber possible under current law; and be it 29 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature requests the United States 30 Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, to manage the Tongass National Forest in order 31 to provide maximum opportunity for timber harvest under current law.
01 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Bill Clinton, President of the 02 United States; the Honorable Al Gore, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and President 03 of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Thomas S. Foley, Speaker of the U.S. House of 04 Representatives; the Honorable George Mitchell, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the 05 Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the 06 Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska Delegation in Congress; 07 and to Mr. Michael Espy, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Mr. Jack Ward 08 Thomas, Chief of the U. S. Forest Service.