Idaho Wilderness Hearings

Statement:

Mr. Ford. Thank you, Senator McClure, Senator Symms. My name is Pat Ford. I work for the Idaho Conservation League. I've lived in Idaho for 32 years. I support inclusion as a minimum in Idaho wilderness legislation of the 10 areas that we are calling the Endangered Idaho Wilderness Core. We will submit for the record a more detailed description and ar gument for those areas by September 2, actually quite a bit earlier. Conservationists are also working hard across the State to put to gether a statewide proposal and we will get that together and submit it to you and make it public no later than October 1. And I would urge you to, if it is possible, to defer action on this legisla tion for a few weeks until you have our proposal before you and can consider it as you make your decisions. Let me now turn to release and perhaps add to the confusion, I don't know. My understanding of hard release, and I think it's the understanding of most people who have testified here, is based on language in a number — it was introduced in Congress in the last few years, the RARE II Review Act is one, Senator Hayakawa's bill. That was a bill that you supported, Senator McClure, as I un derstand. That language in that bill would have forbidden the Forest Serv ice from ever again studying released lands for wilderness or man aging released lands for wilderness without the express congres sional approval. That provision, then, as outlined, reverses current laws govern ing national forest management and effectively limits the possibili 483 ty that any forest lands will be designated wilderness in the future. It is explicit in both the Multiple Use Sustained Yield Act and the National Forest Management Act, which are the two major recent legislation governing the Forest Service today that wilderness is, and should be, an option for consideration in the national forest planning and management. In other words, wilderness is accorded quality status with other multiple uses of the national forest as an option for Forest Service land managers to consider. Conservationists support that existing legally established process. The National Forest Management Act mandates consideration of wilderness in the forest planning process and establishes a scheme whereby areas can be periodically re viewed and considered for addition to the wilderness system, just as areas are also periodically reviewed and considered for other multi ple uses. Senator, your point earlier today that with hard release, the Forest Service Could still recommend released areas for wilderness may be true. I'm not sure about that, to tell you the truth. But as I interpret hard release, the recommendation would be a paper recommendation only with no connection to manage ment decisions the Forest Service can make. So based on that understanding, I oppose hard release language in Idaho legislation. Thank you.