Idaho Wilderness Hearings

Statement:

Mr. McCarthy. Thank you, Senator McClure and Congressman Craig. I'm Patrick McCarthy, and I've submitted two letters for the written testimony for people who couldn't be here this afternoon. And I'll read a portion of the letter with 52 signatures that I gathered rather quickly on Saturday evening from Wood River residents. And it says, the letter says simply, please slow down. Any quick decision or hard release legislation on 6.5 million acres of remaining roadless land in Idaho's National Forest will affect all of us forever. We choose to live in a part of Idaho rich with recreational oppor tunities. To continue the quality of life in Idaho, the quality of air and water, to maintain our runs of ocean, going salmon and steelhead, our wild trout. To insure roadless areas remain for bighorn sheep, mountain goat, cougar, elk, moose, bear, wolves, and deer. To keep the option of roadless wilderness open for us all, we urge you to protect the following areas as wilderness. And then the spe cific areas are listed in the written testimony. In quick conclusion, I would like to say again, please think of the long run. Visiting the Selway-Bitteroot wilderness area this last fall, I met a man named Emil Keck who this August 18 will have lived in the primitive area for the last 20 years and now rebuilds suspension pack bridges over the Selway and Moose Creek. This work is all done by hand with local cedar, handhewn into timbers, joined and fitted and eased into place all by his hand and 453 by himself. He's 70 years old this year and is as burly as the land in which he lives. If one has time Emil will talk your ear off. And it's time we need now so as best to decide on the future of Idaho's wild lands. For as Emil says about the Selway country ap plies to these lands in question as well. If you can't think in terms of 500 years, you just don't belong in this country. Thank you.