However, a test program that will involve two to three missiles being fired from Kodiak and a similar number from new silos built at Fort Greely will proceed, Stevens said.

"Full-scale deployment will not occur until the research and development phase has validated the system as a whole," Stevens said. "There are no new technologies involved, but the integration of the system must be tested, and this is as it should be," he said.

Missile defense was one of a wide range of issues, from transportation to energy and the gas pipeline, fisheries and education, that Stevens touched on in his annual address to the Legislature.

He also urged state legislators to set aside partisan politics to tackle critical issues like the state fiscal gap, citing a strong bipartisan effort under way now in Congress on major questions.

"In Congress, we sound in public as partisan as ever, but behind the scenes we are working very closely with the other party," he said.

Significantly, Stevens did not mention subsistence, the first time in years that the state's senior senator has not urged legislators to approve a proposed constitutional amendment that could stop the takeover of fish and game management in Alaska by federal agencies.

In his talk he urged Alaskans to extend a helping hand to military families in the state who are affected by deployment of personnel overseas.

"When I served in World War II, there were few families, if any, around our bases," he said.

"Today our military is a family community, and many family members are alone with small children while their partner in life is deployed somewhere in the world," Stevens said.

In remarks following the speech, Stevens expressed hope that Alaska's four military bases will survive future base closings. Each has a major role, he said. Elmendorf Air Force Base is the major support base for security in the North Pacific, Eielson Air Force Base backstops Elmendorf, Fort Wainwright is a major training center, and Fort Richardson is a center for science and research in war fighting.

But he predicted that the U.S. military is in for a major overhaul after current anti-terrorism efforts wind down, which Stevens predicted will last two to three more years. The "military of the future" will be robust, but high-tech, the senator said.

On tourism, Stevens spoke favorably of efforts under way by the Washington and Hawaii delegations to waive Jones Act requirements, which would allow foreign-built cruise ships to travel from one U.S. port to another.

"This would help the cruise ship industry reposition ships from Europe that are now operating at less than capacity," because of the decline in travel after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

A major portion of Stevens' remarks were devoted to fisheries.

"Fish farms now threaten the collapse of our salmon industry," he said. "Now foreign countries are also farming halibut and other species. Unless we take bold action it will be too late to turn the tide."

During his address, the senator went on to outline a number of steps he will take.

"Shortly after the Senate reconvenes, it will turn to consideration of the Farm Bill. I have initiated a new pilot program for salmon insurance modeled after the successful crop insurance program. I am working also on amendments that will require the labeling of both imported and farm-raised fish.

"We will try to develop a plan to allow our wild salmon to be labeled organic to give it a share of the growing, lucrative health food market," Stevens said. Efforts to get wild salmon labeled as organic were turned down by the U.S. Department of Agriculture last year.

Stevens said he has been asked by salmon fishermen to author a federally financed marketing plan to promote wild salmon.

"I will offer an amendment to add seafood to the agricultural marketing service, but that will only solve part of the problem," he said.

He also said he will convene a salmon summit this spring to get a better understanding of the science and issues involved and to solicit testimony from industry and community leaders to develop a plan.

There's good news in fisheries too, Stevens said. Efforts to fund lucrative dive fisheries are beginning to bear fruit and progress is being made in efforts to recapitalize, and rationalize, the crab fisheries.

The new Community Development Quota corporations are bringing $100 million a year into the state's economy.

They are also buying into the offshore fishing fleet, increasing Alaska ownership of the fleet to an unprecedented level.

The American Fisheries Act, authored by Stevens, "has been successful beyond our wildest dreams. Our all-American fleet is the largest volume fishery in the country. It has spawned dozens of new products," and by mandating full utilization of the fish, it also operates more efficiently, Stevens said.

"For every pound of bottomfish harvested, utilization increased by a quarter pound. That translates into 100 million more pounds of edible seafood protein, adding $100 million to our economy."

On natural gas, "all options are on the table, and the options should include state participation to build the gas line through Alaska," Stevens said.

There is justification for some form of federal action to stabilize volatile gas prices for the project, because the initial impact on the market of delivering large quantities of Alaska gas will have an upsetting effect on prices, he said.

However, Stevens said he does not support a ban on the over-the-top northern route, and that "we should wait until the gas producers finish their studies."

But ultimately the gas pipeline should not leave Alaska via a route that will not allow Alaskans to use the gas for energy and economic development, he said.

"Energy is the most significant cost in our economy," he said.