Legislature(1999 - 2000)
03/22/2000 03:10 PM Senate RES
| Audio | Topic |
|---|
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HJR 54-EXCLUDE AK NATL FORESTS FROM ROADLESS POL
CHAIRMAN HALFORD announced HJR 54 to be up for consideration.
REPRESENTATIVE BILL WILLIAMS, sponsor of HJR 54, said Alaska has
two of the largest national forests in America: the Tongass and
Chugach. He objects to a roadless policy for several reasons.
First, it's against the law. ANILCA specifically prohibits
withdrawals without the express direction of Congress. Second, we
just spent over 10 years and $15 million to create the Tongass Land
Management Plan, which addresses all uses of the forest. Third,
the public process is being followed to produce a plan for the
Chugach National Forest. Of concern to many in the Chugach is the
spruce bark beetle infestation. If the roadless policy is
implemented, it will be harder to manage. The Governor, late last
year, wrote a strong letter opposing the roadless plan.
SENATOR LINCOLN asked whether, regarding the Further Resolved
clause on page 3 that urges the Governor to determine what legal
action may be available under ANILCA, he thought this would create
an expense for the state.
REPRESENTATIVE WILLIAMS answered that he would have to talk to the
Governor's office about that.
MS. PAM LABOLLE, President, Alaska State Chamber of Commerce,
stated strong support for HJR 54. The Chamber requests that the
legislature support all efforts to stop the Forest Service's
proposed roadless policy and that the State sue the Forest Service
to block application of the roadless initiative. The Clinton
Administration is making a folly out of the efforts spent to
develop the Tongass Land Management Plan.
MS. SUSAN SCHRADER opposed HJR 54 saying her members use the
Tongass Forest for a variety of reasons - subsistence, recreation,
and commercial use. They support the efforts by the Clinton
Administration and the U.S. Forest Service to protect the existing
roadless areas in the Tongass and Chugach National Forests.
The roadless proposal, she explained, does not create wilderness;
only Congress can do that. A more practical way to look at this
policy is as another tool the Forest Service can use to manage
national forests. It will help allow the Forest Service to protect
the water quality for the fish and habitat for wildlife and to
ensure that there are opportunities for remote recreation.
MS. SCHRADER said this roadless policy does not create new parks or
refuges, it does not violate the "no more" clause in ANILCA. This
policy does not affect existing roads. In fact, the money saved by
not building new roads in roadless areas can be used to maintain
existing roads in the Tongass and the Chugach. Nationwide, the
Forest Service estimates it has an $8.4 million backlog in road
maintenance. It doesn't make sense to keep building roads if you
can't maintain the ones you have.
This policy does not mean an end to the timber industry. Billions
of board feet are within roaded areas in the Tongass that will
continue to be available. There are 4,600 miles of existing roads
in the Tongass. There are no timber-dependent communities in the
Chugach or near it. Another concern is that this proposal will
affect other rights guaranteed under ANILCA or similar laws. It
does not. RS 2477 rights-of-way would still be maintained.
If the committee needs a good reason to protect our roadless areas,
it can look south to Washington and see what's happened there.
TAPE 00-13, SIDE B
Number 2400
MS. SCHRADER noted problems in the Mount Baker and Snoqualmie
Forest with landslides, damage to salmon streams, game poaching,
and the increased risk of human caused fires. Alaska can do it
differently by giving the Forest Service another tool to protect
the national forests for the benefit of all its users.
SENATOR TAYLOR asked Ms. Schrader if she saw a program on C-SPAN in
which the Senate Energy and Resources Committee had Secretary of
Agriculture Mike Dombeck (ph) and Undersecretary of Agriculture Jim
Lyons answer questions about this policy. Ms. Schrader indicated
she hadn't.
SENATOR TAYLOR said according to statements made by Mr. Dombeck and
Mr. Lyons, Governor Knowles said in his letter that this would be
an outrage and a double-cross. Her presentation sounds very
different from the comments made by Mr. Dombeck and Mr. Lyons.
Senator Craig, who conducted the hearing, was quite shocked to
learn that this policy was considered with no public input and that
environmental organizations wrote letters directly to the Secretary
who gave them to the President.
SENATOR LINCOLN said she thinks the Majority isn't keeping Senator
Taylor busy enough if he has the time to watch so many TV programs.
She asked why the Governor's letter and the Chamber of Commerce
spoke only to the Tongass National Forest while HJR 54 speaks to
both the Tongass and the Chugach National Forests.
SENATOR TAYLOR answered that the reason is because of the timing of
when the policies were announced and when the letters occurred. No
initial discussion occurred about the Chugach but many issues about
the Tongass were pending. The Chugach was included in the roadless
policy since that time.
Number 2150
CHAIRMAN HALFORD added that some provisions of the resolution apply
more to the Tongass, such as timber harvest, and other provisions
apply more to the Chugach, such as the beetle infestation problem.
SENATOR TAYLOR moved to pass HJR 54 from committee with individual
recommendations. There were no objections and it was so ordered.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|