Friday, February 6, 1998
Murkowski
demands halt to Tongass exports
In a meeting this morning with Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman, Senator Frank Murkowski
demanded that the Forest Service stop approving the export of spruce and hemlock from the
Tongass National Forest. Murkowski told Glickman that it's impossible to develop a
value-added timber industry here in Southeast when the raw material that fuels those jobs
is sent Outside. About 80 percent of the timber harvested in the Tongass last year
was exported without meeting the primary manufacturing requirements put in place when the
modern timber era opened in Alaska in the 1950s. Glickman promised to provide an
answer next week.
Crewman
quit ill-fated boat because of hazard
Hans Christian Hansen, a former crewman on the LeConte, a fishing boat that sank a week
ago killing the captain and a crewman, says he left the crew 13 days prior to the sinking
because the captain, the late Mark Morley, pushed the envelope too much in search of fish.
The testimony came yesterday at a Coast Guard hearing into the sinking 60 miles
southeast of Yakutat. The boat's owner, Scott Echols, said he warned Morley to not
take the LeConte into outside waters without a life raft, a piece of equipment that was
missing when the incident occurred.
Some B.C.
fishermen remain hold-outs
Still no word from the 33 Prince Rupert fishermen who haven't yet agreed to the settlement
of Alaska's lawsuit stemming from the blockade of the Malispina last summer. So far
235 fishermen have agreed to the settlement, promising to not block any more ferries and
to drop a counterclaim against the state. Attorney General Bruce Botelho says if the
holdouts don't sign, then the agreement will not stand. He says those who haven't
responded were very active in the protest, and could still pursue a claim against the
state if the settlement went through.
Glacier
Bay fishing plan moves ahead
It looks as if major progress has been made between commercial fishermen, Alaska Natives
and environmentalists regarding the proposed closure of Glacier Bay National Park to
commercial fishing, but it's unclear if an agreement between the groups will satisfy
Congress, the Clinton Administration and national environmental groups. In a meeting
yesterday the stakeholders agreed that parts of the Inner Bay, including Muir Inlet,
should be closed to commercial fishing, and Beardslee Islands dungeness crab fishermen
said they would accept a federal buy-out. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources
Committee will hold a hearing on the proposal later this month.
Move bill
unmoved by Bill
Representative Bill Hudson prevailed upon State Affairs Committee Chairwoman Jeannette
James to hold onto a bill that would move Legislative sessions to Anchorage, saying there
is no great statewide cry to make such a move. The bill is sponsored by
Representatives Joe Green and Norm Rokeberg of Anchorage, and a vote last week would have
moved it out of committee. But now another hearing on the matter will be scheduled.
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