Senator Lisa Murkowski Seeks Forest Services' Commitment to Harvests in the Tongass

SENATOR LISA MURKOWSKI SEEKS FOREST SERVICES' COMMITMENT TO HARVESTS IN THE TONGASS

Today, during an Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on the U.S. Forest Service's FY06 budget, Sen. Lisa Murkowski sought the commitment of the Forest Service in helping allowable harvesting to continue in the Tongass National Forest and questioned the validity of restrictions on harvesting under the Tongass Land Management Plan (TLMP).

"Only about 12 percent of the commercial timber on the Tongass has been harvested in the last 100 years," Murkowski noted in her questions to Mark Rey, Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Natural Resources and the Environment.

"And as we look to the Tongass Land Management Plan, it provides that 267 million board feet can be harvested, yet we're concerned. Primarily the Alaska Forest Association is concerned that the Forest Service continues to plan for only 100 million board feet annually and is able to deliver only between 50 to 70 million board feet. We don't have any threatened or endangered species on the Tongass yet the 1997 Land Management Plan imposed several constraints - including reserves and buffers - that do limit the amount of economically viable timber that can be made available," Sen. Murkowski said.

"My question to you is whether the Forest Service is committed to preserving and enhancing the timber industry in Southeast Alaska and whether in your view it is appropriate to revisit or to rethink some of the restrictions that currently exist as they relate to the Tongass?"

"The answer to the first question is yes," Rey responded. "The answer to the second question is that we have embarked on the five year review of the Tongass Land Management Plan. The issues you describe will be part of that review."

"You are correct there are no threatened or endangered terrestrial species in the Tongass; however, there is a very robust population of environmental litigants in Southeast Alaska as there are in Oregon," Rey continued, noting that moving sale offerings through the appeal and litigation processes is often what stands in the way of the Forest Service being able to implement the TLMP fully.

The Forest Service manages over 22 million acres in Southeast and South Central Alaska. The Tongass National Forest stretches the 500 mile length of the Southeast Alaska panhandle and covers more than 80 percent of the land. The Chugach National Forest begins just 50 miles south of Anchorage and stretches some 200 miles across Prince William Sound, the Copper River Delta and the Kenai Peninsula.

In her opening statement, Sen. Murkowski noted that the there is a fundamental difference between a National Park and a National Forest which is governed under ‘multiple use' guidelines. "Multiple use does not mean ‘look but don't touch.' The principle requires that our forest resources be managed not only for ecosystem and habitat values, but also for tourism, recreation and yes, the harvest of timber to promote economic development," Murkowski said.

http://murkowski.senate.gov/pressapp/record.cfm?id=232720