Idaho Wilderness Hearings

Statement:

Mr. Belvoir. Senator McClure, Senator Craig, I'm glad to speak in front of you today. I'm a native of Idaho, over 32 years in Idaho. I was born and raised in Payette, I knew Senator McClure and his daughter when I was a child. 396 I've hunted in these areas ever since I've been able to get a li cense. Every year it seems to be harder and harder to find an area to hunt because of logging explorations. Most of the time the logs — the roads alone cost more than the logging to produce. Taxpayers build these roads, not logging profits. A case in point is Kelley Creek-Cayouse River in northern Idaho. This is a nationally recognized blue ribbon trout stream. Prime habitat for elk, gray wolves, moose, and grizzly bear. This area is being threatened by logging operations. It has been estimated that the cost of building the road, $80,000 to $150,000 per month will exceed the value of the timber cost, timber harvest. There is no justification, in my opinion, for projects that do not either show a profit or have a high aesthetic value. A better plan would be to subsidize the logging companies for the amount of the roads cost and keep the areas roadless. But the best overall plan would be for our Idaho congressional delegates to truly represent the people of Idaho and not the devel opers. Setting aside the emotional trauma that might be produced and seeing the White Clouds leveled, Middle Fork of the Salmon River dammed or Red Fish Lake full of oil rigs, it is easy to build a ra tional case for a need for wilderness area. I would like to see included in wilderness all the endangered Idaho wilderness core, which has been mentioned before. I would very much like to see soft release working in any legisla tion. I oppose hard release and I would urge that 50 percent of all of the 6.5 million acres of forest roadless land be considered wilder ness. The tactics most often used by those who would go to our backcountries is an attempt to sway the public opinion