00CS FOR HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 24(RES)                                                                               
01 Relating to challenging the environmental and economic integrity of Alaska timber                                       
02 as Christmas decor for the United States Capitol.                                                                       
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04  WHEREAS the Tongass National Forest has been chosen by the Clinton                                                     
05 Administration to provide Christmas trees to decorate the nation's Capitol and congressional                            
06 offices; and                                                                                                            
07  WHEREAS the grace and beauty of Alaska's native tree species are well suited for                                       
08 such a distinct purpose; and                                                                                            
09  WHEREAS Alaskans are a generous people, and their State's resources a tremendous                                       
10 asset that if carefully managed by the people most closely affected can be the backbone of a                            
11 strong economy; and                                                                                                     
12  WHEREAS trees harvested for the economic benefit of the people of the Tongass are                                      
13 subject to full public comment and environmental review; and                                                            
14  WHEREAS, under normal conditions, the Alaska Legislature would regard the                                              

01 opportunity to provide federal offices with Christmas trees from our national forest as the                             
02 highest compliment and honor; and                                                                                       
03  WHEREAS conditions are not normal, as one of Alaska's two pulp mills and the                                           
04 state's largest sawmill have shut down while Alaska's remaining pulp mill has announced it                              
05 will close in March at a cost of thousands of jobs; and                                                                 
06  WHEREAS, even with the recent signing of a three-year contract to supply wood to                                       
07 Southeast Alaska's two largest sawmills, consistent supply remains a concern for their                                  
08 continued existence; and                                                                                                
09  WHEREAS over 60 percent of Southeast Alaska's timber-related jobs have been                                            
10 eliminated since 1990; and                                                                                              
11  WHEREAS the Clinton Administration has ignored the efforts of the Alaska                                               
12 congressional delegation and the Alaska State Legislature to secure the livelihoods of the                              
13 workers, their families, and the timber dependent communities of Southeast Alaska; and                                  
14  WHEREAS the Alaska State Legislature deems it inappropriate to harvest trees for                                       
15 decorative purposes, and ask Southeast Alaskans to incur the cost, while Southeast Alaska                               
16 timber jobs are being extinguished, depressing the area's economy; and                                                  
17  WHEREAS what should be an honor is instead an affront as it carries the message                                        
18 that careful harvesting of our trees is acceptable to decorate the nation's Capitol and the halls                       
19 of Congress, yet not acceptable to provide jobs for the people of Southeast Alaska;                                     
20  BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature recognizes harvesting of                                              
21 Alaska's trees to provide pleasure for those far removed is symbolic of a failed national policy                        
22 which has cost Southeast Alaska communities thousands of year-round, family supporting jobs                             
23 and caused untold personal suffering; and be it                                                                         
24  FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska Legislature opposes the harvesting of                                                 
25 Christmas trees for the nation's Capitol and other federal and congressional offices from the                           
26 Tongass National Forest and urges that it not be done without full public comment and a                                 
27 comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement; and be it                                                                 
28  FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature requests the Clinton                                                
29 Administration to find another source for the 1998 White House Christmas tree festivities in                            
30 light of the social and economic hardship forced upon the unemployed timber workers, their                              
31 families, and the timber dependent-communities of the Tongass.                                                          

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 Strom Thurmond, President Pro Tempore of the U.S.                                     
04 Senate; the Honorable Trent Lott, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Thomas                              
05 Daschle, Minority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Newt Gingrich, Speaker of the                                
06 U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable Dick Armey, Majority Leader of the U.S. House                              
07 of Representatives; the Honorable Richard A. Gephardt, Minority Leader of the U.S. House                                
08 of Representatives; Secretary Dan Glickman, Department of Agriculture; Michael Dombeck,                                 
09 Chief of the U.S. Forest Service; Philip Janik, Regional Forester, Region X, U.S. Forest                                
10 Service; and to the Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S.                                       
11 Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska                                       
12 delegation in Congress.