About 80 Juneauites filled House Finance chambers to speak on this reduction among other cuts during public testimony on the dramatically reduced state operating budget.
Two of the 80 testified against the timber program cuts. The House Finance subcommittee on natural resources, chaired by Rep. Lance Pruitt, R-Anchorage, approved a budget last week that would nearly eliminate the state timber sale program, closing offices in Juneau, Ketchikan and Haines, only “maintaining some level of timber sales in the Interior for fire reduction,” a subcommittee document states. The cut would save the state $1.3 million in general funds.
It would also put Southeast’s remaining timber industry at significant risk of collapse, testifiers said Tuesday. Mills like Viking Lumber Co., on Prince of Wales Island, rely on state timber sales to stay afloat while federal sales are held up in court. A DNR spokesperson said after hearing that 63 different Alaska mills have purchased state timber in recent years.
Lynn Campbell, speaking on behalf of regional advocacy group Southeast Conference, told House Finance that the budgetary blow has the potential to wipe out the industry, hurting the economy and pointing toward higher costs down the road. “The state will have to stomach a tremendous cost in the future to bring back this industry,” he said. Sealaska Vice President Jaeleen Araujo spoke against the cut on behalf of the corporation and its timber operation.
The meeting was most heavily attended by a contingency of Juneau mothers who spoke about the good the local Parents As Teachers program has done for them and their children and asked House Finance to restore its funding. Parents As Teachers, facilitated locally by the Association for the Education of Young Children-Southeast Alaska, is a free, voluntary home-visiting program for families with children as old as 3. One mom said she had been a “special-needs parent” at the end of her rope before the program intervened and “helped make our home safe for our little boy.”
House Finance committee members did not comment on the testimony or ask questions. They will continue to hear public testimony on the operating budget throughout the week.
via JuneauEmpire.com
image credit Michael Penn Juneau Empire
