Idaho Wilderness Hearings

Statement:

CORP. Mr. Minnick. Good morning, Senator, I am Walter C. Minnick. I am president of Trus Joist Corp., an international building materi als and wood products company headquartered in Boise. Our business is 100-percent dependent on the efficient use of our forestry resource. I make three points: First, despite what our paid affairs specialists may tell you, I and many employed in the uilding materials industry support substantially more wilderness. Eublic I personally favor adding another IV2 to 2 million acres to the State's wilderness system, which would divide the remaining wil derness area one-third for wilderness and two-thirds for multiple use. Second, multiple use should not mean just logging. In all multi ple-use areas we should insure that recreational interests, like biggame hunting, steelhead fishing, and snowmobiling, are not auto matically subordinated to cutting down trees. Where such uses are important economically, like Jersey Jack, we ought to create national recreation areas where logging will be 81 conducted only with no permanent roads in a fashion compatible with competing recreational uses. Third, you in Washington must do something, and do it now before the election, about runaway Federal budget deficits and the rising interest rates they are causing. My own company's order files have declined substantially in the last 30 days because you can't agree to balance the budget and do something about interest rates. This is what has depressed our industry today, not the shortage of timber.