Alaska’s timber industry today proposed recommendations to the state Board of Forestry that would amend the state’s Forest Resources and Practices Act (FPA) to ensure greater protection of the state’s salmon streams, according to Alaska Forest Association executive director, Jack Phelps. "The Act governs timber harvest activities on non-federal land in Alaska. The proposed changes are a response to the findings of a state-appointed Science and Technical Committee which included timber and fishing representatives as well as state agency representation. The committee has been meeting for nearly two years, studying the relationship between logging activities, fish habitat and water quality," Phelps said.

"The industry proposal goes beyond the recommendations of the Science & Technical Committee," Phelps said. "Our own research showed us the importance of additional timber retention along salmon streams to benefit fish habitat." The proposal was presented to the Board of Forestry in accordance with the agreement forged in 1990 when the FPA was last amended, according to Phelps. The Board of Forestry consists of representatives of various stakeholders, including the forest products industry, the fishing community, recreation interests and environmentalists.

"The Science & Technical Committee process, initiated by the Board of Forestry two years ago, gave us a forum in which we could collectively and responsibly examine concerns about public resources," Phelps said. "It took longer than we would have like and was very expensive, but the results were good."

"Throughout the life of the scientific and stakeholder committee review, the Board of Forestry has provided valuable leadership to bring this effort to a successful conclusion. We have a great working relationship with the fishing industry and other members of the Board of Forestry. The process allowed us to understand each other’s issues and to work together to solve the potential problems that were out there."

Changes to the state’s forest practices law are not taken lightly by the industry, according to Phelps. "Alaska has a solid, science-based law governing our logging practices," he said. "All three resource agencies (Natural Resources, Environmental Conservation and Fish and Game) are empowered by the law to oversee our activities. Over the past five years, industry has put a half million dollars into scientific stream monitoring to ensure that the fish habitat protections in the Act are effective. As empirical data becomes available to show where change is needed, the industry is willing to take the lead in improving the law."

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