European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 10, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse                                 situation in few people in Sitka the former capital of rus Sian Alaska would want to join the soviet Union but there Are Many there who want the 49th state to secede from the United states. They think the Federal government meddles too much in local affairs. Specifically they Are angry Over a Bill in Congress called . 39, which would designate 114 million acres in Alaska As National Parks and wilderness areas. About 3,000 people in the Sitka area make their living in lumbering and they Are opposed to wilderness areas because logging operations Are forbidden in them. ". 39 stinks reads an inscription on a log that serves As playground equipment for an elementary school. The Bill was drawn up by environmentalists in Alaska and was sponsored by rep. Morris k. Udall,d.-aiz., who is chairman of the House Interior committee. Udall and rep. John f. Seiberling , have been holding hear Ings throughout Alaska on the proposal. The controversy centers on the 16-million-acre Tong ass National Forest which encompasses most of the Alaska Panhandle and is the nation s largest National Forest. Not everybody is against Tjie proposal. One of those who favors the establishment of wilderness areas is Jack Calvin the 75-year-old Grandfather of the Sitka Conser vation society. He came to Alaska in a Canoe from residents of Sitka City at the end of a Bridge on a sound surrounded by mountains and wilderness fear that new conservation measures will curtail lumbering operations. New York times by Rob Stapleton 2 Tacoma wash., in the Early 1930s, and still uses the Sam Canoe. This summer he strapped the Canoe to a Light plane and took off with friends to float Down the nearby St Kine River which runs through a proposed wilderness area that abounds in Bear wolves and Deer. Calvin has retired from his printing business but he still works with the Sierra club escorting tourists to the glaciers and mountains that surround Sitka. He concedes that the pulp Mill which employs 1,300 people has made Sitka More prosperous but he says he resents the fact that every tree is viewed As a log. If the Mill closed Down Sitka would still be a goo place to  much of the Good life in Sitka centers on the picturesque old Harbor and its fishing boats tour ves Sels float planes and sailboats. Tourism has become an important business with people coming from around the world to Fly into the wilderness visit the Sitka National historical Park or just savor old Sitka which is in an Island studded sound sur rounded by mountains and Spruce forests. The City was founded As fort archangel Gabriel in 1799 by Aleksandr Baranov a russian who was the first governor of Alaska. In 1802, the tlingit indians destroyed the fort but Baranov rebuilt it two years later and moved his Headquarters there from Kodiak. Long before san Francisco became a cosmopolitan saturday september 10, 1977 Center Sitka was the leading Post on the Pacific coast with a flourishing fishing Industry shipyards sawmills and foundries. When the . Purchased Alaska from Russia the formal Transfer took place in Sitka on oct. 18, 1867, and from then until 1900 Sitka was the capital of Alaska. Part of the russian flavor of the town lingers on especially around the old russian orthodox Cathe dral where the streets veer off in Odd directions to comfortable Hillside houses. About 7,000 people live in Sitka and while there is heavy rain throughout the year they enjoy a climate that brings Little Snow and temperatures that Range from a monthly mean of 33 degrees in january to 58 in August. Not All the arguments against the wilderness proposal Are based on Money. Bill Royce a lawyer voices an objection heard frequently from people in Sitka. He says that outsiders who want Large National Parks in Alaska Are preventing local citizens from making decisions about their own future and contends that the interests of both Industry and conservation can be accommodated through citizen involvement. He also voices another belief often expressed. He says he has ignored opportunities to move elsewhere and build More lucrative practice. In Sitka you have More time to do things besides practice. I think you can live better in  new York times the stars and stripes Page 13