Idaho Wilderness Hearings

Statement:

Ms. Nimtz. My name is Diane Nimtz. I am a resident of Idaho, living in Boise. Many are familiar with the parable of the blind men and the ele phant. Each man touches only one portion of the elephant and from that concluded what an elephant must resemble. In a very similar manner, many of the people who are testifying during these hearings are proverbial blind people, caught up in ex pounding their own narrow viewpoints, yet missing the whole reali ty of the wilderness question. Idaho has always had wilderness, and we now seem to be setting ourselves up as judges to decide what wilderness can be eliminated from our trust, our natural inheritance. Rather than blindly looking at Idaho's forests on a short-term basis, such as the economics of logging during the next 5 years, we just take a long-range view, preserving the wilderness that still re mains for the future. I, although not a rich elitist, enjoy backpacking in the spectacu lar wilderness of our State. I urge you to support inclusion of the Endangered Idaho Wilder ness Core in addition to the White Clouds-Boulder area. To refrain from the folly of our proverbial blind men, you are also asked to support soft release language. Although I have been backpacking in various proposed wilder ness areas, I would like to particularly address myself to the Payette Crest, one of my favorites, which is in the vicinity of McCall. My experience in this area of sparkling lakes, rugged peaks