Idaho Wilderness Hearings

Statement:

GAME COMMITTEE, IDAHO WILDLIFE FEDERATION Mr. Reiquam. Good afternoon Senator and Congressmen. My name is Leslie A. Reiquam. And I'm speaking for myself as an indi vidual and as chairman of Fish and Game Committee of the Idaho Wildlife Federation. My most serous concern is with your proposed hard release lan guage. It seems to me that to permanently bar any further consid eration of wilderness after passage of this upcoming legislation is to make a more final foreclosure that we have the moral right to make. I see the possibility down the road, perphaps as soon as 10 or 20 years, when clean, cold water may be as valuable to our children and grandchildren as petroleum is to us now. Most of the roadless areas in question here today are important sources of naturally controlled, unpolluted streams. I am not total ly opposed to all logging and mining. I am opposed to opening these roadless areas to development and multiple use all at once. We must not degrade these watersheds. I feel that current methods of road building and mineral explora tion do not offer adequate safeguards against erosion and stream siltation. Since there is a significant number of available timber sales with no takers, and many of those which are bid are concluded as a defi cit to the taxpayers, I cannot justify hard release. The watershed, fish, wildlife, conservation and recreation values are more than worthy of the old, slow and careful processes toward development. Thank you very much.