By a stroke of ill fortune known as the 1994 mid-term elections, they now preside over the two key natural resources committees in the Senate and House. They argue that opening up the refuge and the forest will create jobs and revenue for the state. If oil is found in the refuge, there will indeed be new jobs and an infusion of cash to every Alaskan citizen. For these reasons, Alaskans as a whole would like to see drilling proceed. They are far less enthusiastic about increasing the timber harvest in Tongass.
Conservationists oppose exploitation of both the refuge and the forest.
The Tongass National Forest is a vast expanse of islands and lush valleys covering most of the Alaska Panhandle. It is home to grizzly bears, bald eagles and countless salmon. It also includes magnificent stands of old-growth trees coveted by timber companies. After years of rapacious logging in the forest, Congress passed a bill in 1990 that set aside one million acres as protected wilderness, imposed strict land-management rules in other parts of the forest and sharply reduced Federal subsidies to the timber companies. In case Mr. Murkowski gets nowhere with his proposal, Senator Stevens has attached a rider to the Interior Department's appropriation bill that would accomplish the same result, mandating a far higher annual cut than presently allowed.