FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 6, 1998
Contact:
Jack E. Phelps, Executive Director
(907) 225-6114 or (907) 723-5040
Forest Industry
Applauds Alaska State House for
Passing New Forest Practices Standards
The Alaska State House of Representatives today demonstrated strong support for the
state’s salmon streams and for Alaska’s forest products industry when it passed
House Bill 373, according to Alaska Forest Association executive director, Jack Phelps. HB
373, sponsored by House Speaker Gail Phillips, amends the state’s Forest Resources
and Practices Act, ensuring greater protections for salmon streams on non-federal land in
the coastal forests of Alaska.
"This legislation, which has the strong support of the timber industry, is good for
fish, it is good for the industry, and it is good for all Alaskans," Phelps said.
"It is good for the industry because it helps assure the public that when loggers cut
trees, they work under scientifically sound guidelines to protect other values in the
woods. We think that is an important facet of the state’s forest practices law. For
that reason, we are pleased to support Speaker Phillips’ bill." The bill is also
supported by the state’s largest fishing industry group, the Knowles Administration,
environmental groups and the state Board of Forestry.
"Research funded by the timber industry over the past five years showed the
importance of additional timber retention along certain streams for the benefit of fish
habitat," Phelps said. During that period, forest products companies and the
Association have invested half a million dollars in scientific stream monitoring to
evaluate the fisheries protections in the Act. "As empirical data become available to
show where changes make sense," Phelps stated, "the industry will continue to
take the lead in improving the law. We hope that the cooperative attitude that prevailed
in the discussions leading up to House Bill 373 will set the standard for the way any
future changes are proposed."
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