Idaho Wilderness Hearings

Statement:

Ms. Milliken. Good afternoon. This will be a short summary of my longer written testimony. Once in Yosemite after an hour's hike up a trail, I found at the top a hot dog stand. This is an extreme and somewhat comical analogy, but it does indicate that what was once wild and expan sive had become small and civilized. We have a jewel here in Idaho, a precious commodity that will become more valuable as people continue to seek experiences in the outdoors. I moved to Idaho because it has something you can't get in other States, vast areas of clear water, undeveloped land and abundant wildlife. Without these Idaho would have no unique characteristics. It would offer nothing that couldn't be found in Oregon, Washington or any of the other Western States. We cannot allow too much of the State to be opened to roads, mining and logging and with sub sequent destruction of the ecosystem and still expect the opportuni ty we have become accustomed to. While I am aware that many people are unemployed and there are countries in an endless search for new energy resources, it is time that our long term decision for wilderness outweigh those short term economic decisions. Opening our .wilderness to logging and mining will not meet our Nation's needs. I support legislation that includes at least 50 percent of the re maining roadless areas. That includes what is referred to as the Endangered Core and that includes soft release language as op posed to hard release language. Hard release language is a term used to refer to a possible clause in future legislation that will bar lands not designated wilderness during pending legislation from ever being considered for such status in the future. If you are considering to close, I urge you to test it. Thank you.