Revenues rose.

• Position: Timber sales in Alaska show sizeable profits - Alaskan Business Briefs

Revenues Rose. Timber sales held on national forests in Alaska generated 1990 net revenues almost 90 percent higher than those collected in 1989. The continued high demand and high prices paid for Alaska timber resulted in the positive financial report, according to Regional Forester Michael Barton.

The Timber Sale Program Information Reporting System, which documents revenues and costs for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service, tallied $36.6 million in Alaska national forest timber sales in fiscal year 1990. After expenses of $24.9 million, net revenue was $11.7 million, compared with $6.2 million in net revenue for the Alaska Region in fiscal year 1989.

By federal law, 25 percent of a state's gross national forest receipts which include timber sales, recreational use fees, special use fees, and mining fees - are returned to the state for road and school use. In 1990, Alaska received $9.1 million in such payments, with $8.9 million of that based on timber sales alone.

The Alaska Region's 1990 harvest most from Southeast Alaska's Tongass National Forest - was approximately 472 million board feet of timber, an increase of 25 million board feet from 1989. The Forest Service estimates that the national forest timber sales program either directly or indirectly generated...