Idaho Wilderness Hearings

Statement:

Ms. O'Crowley. Good afternoon, Senator McClure. I am really pleased that you invited me to the hearing. And I would like to say that my name is Janet O'Crowley and apparently the lady who made up the program didn't believe that there was a Picabo, but that is where I am from. I am here to speak particularly about the Smoky Mountain Wil derness area recommended by the Forest Service for wilderness designation. I have a strong affinity for this area. My family has used it and enjoyed it since 1910. My father and brothers have had mining claims in close to that area just outside the wilderness boundary. The air quality, the water quality, the unparalleled scenic value, and the wildlife habitat are what have defined the Idaho standard of living. This year, a couple of Saturdays ago, as I was coming out of this area, I passed one car per mile driving up in the forest. With our population increasing at 32 percent per year, it is easy to see the need to preserve what these people are cutting out to see: A core of wilderness at the heart of this well-loved and over-used area where water, air, wildlife can recuperate so we don't love the area to death. It does something for me every time I visit it and I know that it wouldn't be here if it hadn't been protected as a forest. And what I am asking is, wilderness is the one gift of nature you can never recapture once it is gone. If you believe in conservatism and conservation in saving some for our children, you have only one choice. And that is to include or keep the door open for as much wilderness as there is. We are only asking for 2 percent of what God gave us in the be ginning. So please don't say never to the wilderness. The Forest Service recommends it and so do I. And may I say that this is a unique position, being the last speaker before lunch. Thank you very much, Senator.