Idaho Wilderness Hearings

Statement:

Mr. Bluestein. I'm here today to speak about the wildlands of the State of Idaho. I feel that I alone of those in this room, and probably this entire State, have been in all the areas, all the wild areas, that are being considered today, with the exception of Mount Naomi, and I'm going there soon. I have seen something that very few other people have had the privilege to see in the United States, the incredible physiographic and biological diversity of the State of Idaho. Our unusual bound aries have combined to give us a great array of ecosystems of any State in the union and perhaps greater. But ecosystems have been destroyed. And in this State, and even in our time they have been destroyed. We have lost the salmon in a great number of our rivers. We will lose the last caribou, the last grizzlies, the last wolves, the last lynx. All these are dependent on the wilderness and on wildlands. I want to see examples of Idaho's incredible wildlands preserved for the future. I want Idaho to retain the full range of plant and animal species. I don't want to see these wild animals I mentioned sacrificed for short-term gains, for subsidized and inefficient indus tries. I think a lot of what I want could be achieved in a multiple use framework with some sort of wilderness, recreation, wildlife man agement. But in this administration, we have seen that multiple use can be quickly destroyed by narrow economic interests that has little respect for the law and no regard for balanced land use manage ment. With that said, I am sure you will remember the first time talked to you, I spoke about multiple use, not wilderness.