Idaho Wilderness Hearings

Statement:

Senator Noh. Senator, my name is Laird Noh, Route 1, Box 65, Kimberly, Idaho. I am a range sheep producer whose family has been grazing livestock in the West since the 1890's. I have served on the national forest advisory board to the Secre tary of Agriculture and currently serve as chairman of the re sources and environment committee of the Idaho State Senate. It is my opinion that the citizens of our State prefer a moderate approach to additional wilderness. We have a strong tradition of responsible multiple use management and have invested heavily in forest and range management through our excellent College of For estry at the University of Idaho. We should recognize that nonwilderness designation, with lands remaining under the current form of Forest Service management does not imple desecration of wildlife and recreational values. Many of our finest lands have been logged and mined at some point in their history. Any legislation should provide for profession al Forest Service management of lands not designated wilderness while removing the uncertainties of future wilderness review. Re lease language should not allow a loosening of management strings which leads to destructive harvesting practices. Too many Forest Service resources have been tied up with count less review and planning exercises. Such repetitions only cut into practical on-the-ground management efforts which are critical to monitoring, sometimes policing, multiple use activities on Forest Service lands. I think Senator McClure is wise to move now to make decisions to avoid the flow of manpower and dollars into additional nonpro ductive efforts. Our people do desire some additional wilderness, but limited to those areas where multiple use management cannot protect recre ational, aesthetic, and wildlife values. Even those whose primary interest in the land is recreational are worried about the advertis ing effect of wilderness designation. I, for one, have full confidence in your ability, Senator McClure, to provide the direction for the future protection and management of our precious and magnificent lands. These are lands which pro 13 vide much of the economic, cultural, and spiritual nourishment of the people of our State.