Idaho Wilderness Hearings

Statement:

Mr. Feldman. Good afternoon. My name is Murray Feldman and I'm a resident of Moscow, Idaho, where I'm a graduate student and research assistant in the College of Forestry at the University of Idaho. Contrary to Senator McClure's statements, the roadless areas dis cussed today have not been studied extensively and in detail. The same Federal court decision that has prompted these hearings noted that the Forest Service's evaluation of these areas lacked enough sight specific detail to satisfy national environmental policy requirements. The court also pointed out that the Forest Service's assessment was rushed and inadequate. I fail to see why we should fall into the 414 in Idaho with a hurried, put-together wilderness proposal. Instead I encourage Senator McClure and the rest of the Idaho congressional delegation to take the lead in sound environmental decisionmaking and to attempt to do a proper job of studying and evaluating these roadless areas, instead of once again coming to the rescue of the Forest Service after they have failed to fulfill the legislative mandates. As for the future management of Idaho's roadless areas, I would suggest that instead of building roads in the undeveloped areas, that this money be spent on more intensive, and hense productive, management of already roaded areas. In fact, a recent study by the Wilderness Society in the BighornWeitas roadless area in Idaho, found that, and I quote, 'It is finan cially more attractive to postpone timber sales on many sites and concentrate instead on harvesting from highly productive sites which are unlikely to be found in roadless areas.' Finally, roadless lands not designated as wilderness should not be released for immediate multiuse management. This decision would only serve to short circuit the environmental impact stated process by never considering the wilderness values foregone by de veloping these areas. In addition, these areas would then be subject to a national forest managing act planning process, which is heavily biased toward timber production, effectively insuring that these lands will not be available for future wilderness consideration. What's needed here today is not simply a rehash of the wilder ness versus development argument, but rather a search for new and innovative solutions to today's land use problems that will pro vide the benefits we seek while protecting the environment from further needless degradation. The natural heritage and resources of these Idaho roadless areas demand nothing less than our full effort toward this end. Thank same trap here you.