Idaho Wilderness Hearings

Statement:

Mr. Davis. My name is Mark Davis. I have a landscaping archi tecture master's degree and I have done some research in the Native Claims Act. I would like to refute the assumption that wilderness is bad for the economy. I think it is not true for several reasons: because of research values, because grazing is allowed, and because of the recreation, and because it avoids tax subsidies in relation to log ging. Relating to research, mycorrhizal fungi is not exactly a house hold word but because microorganisms helps plants to grow faster and healthier, it may be one of the agricultural boom industries of the future. Undisturbed wilderness holds the key to understanding how fungi and higher plants work together. Because man's activities may eliminate the beneficial microbes, the wilderness is essential. 121 For example, lack of bacteria may be the cause of failure of pine trees to reseed in clearcuts in parts of our national forests. Another example, cedar has a very complex mycorrhizal associa tion and trees that are 100 years old have different fungis than young trees or trees over 500 years. If we eliminate the old growth, such as Long Canyon, we may eliminate the beneficial fungi. Lack of adequate wilderness research areas could deprive us of large economic benefits for lands we do manage intensively.