Idaho Wilderness Hearings

Statement:

Ms. Kelly. Good afternoon Senator McClure and Representative Craig. My name is Dorothy Kelly and I'm a recent transplant to Idaho. I have lived in Michigan, Ohio, and New York and most re cently in southern California. My knowledge of those States and the degradation to the envi ronment, which I have witnessed, have compelled me to speak out today in favor of protection of Idaho's truly unique wild lands. I have lived in States where no land is allowed to be wild, where the roadless area exist only as calendar art and where there are more shopping center acres than forested areas. I favor preservation of at least 2 million acres of the remaining 6 million and I would endorse the conservationists proposal in its en tirety. And I do so on behalf of the citizens of those States who have no wildlife areas, who come to Idaho to enjoy nature at its fullest. And also for future generations who do not have the opportunity to vote who would benefit greatly from this natural beauty of this land. I am concerned about the language that might be used. I think it would be presumptuous of us to anticipate the wishes of the unborn people and egotistical of us to assume that we know what might be best for them. Please allow the domocratic process to work. Keep the democrat ic process open with the release language so that future genera tions may exercise their option as to the fate of the roadless areas based on their values, which may differ from our own. Thank you.