Idaho Wilderness Hearings

Statement:

Mr. Selander. Senator, I am Glenn Selander, a resident of Boise, Idaho. 144 I testify as an individual with a personal concern that we not overstep the line marking the balance between our presence in nature and the presence of that which is not us. As a person, I know it is important to maintain a balance in my physiological structure to remain healthy. Biologists indicate the steady state of our cellular structure is required for us to be healthy. It stands to reason this model is true for our presence in nature. Others may speak of the economic issues of resources and jobs, of deficit timber sales, of timber and wilderness conflict, but I speak from the experience of being allowed only half the trout in posses sion I once was allowed, of seeing more and more denuded slopes in the Boise and Payette Forests, of seeing more and more silted river and creekbeds in the roaded areas of these same forests and of seeing more and more people in both the roaded and roadless areas of southern and southwest Idaho. From this point of view, personal appreciation for and concern for the health of the wild areas, I know we must designate more roadless areas to protect the wild environment from the swelling encroachment of humans. Our raids on the forests and rivers with our machinery are a geo metrically increasing burden on a nature designed only to be able to compensate for our presence on foot. Second, as a city councilman of the largest metropolitan area in Idaho — not speaking for the council but as one experienced in deal ing weekly with the concerns of developers and employers who wish us to make growth and development possible, I know that one of the prime considerations of those being wooed to come here is the availability of a healthy natural environment. Potential residents continually ask questions about the availabil ity of their favorite outdoor pastimes. And those pastimes include access to roadless and healthy, and thus health-giving to them, for ests and rivers. Such amenities are necessary to the health, wellbeing, and productivity of urban dwellers and, therefore, of their corporate and Government employers. Specifically, I ask for your consideration for such wilderness areas, the inclusion of areas such as Steel Mountain, the Trinities, Red Mountain, and Scott Mountain in the Boise Forest; of Rapid River and Council Mountain in the Payette Forest; and of the Pio neers and Cache Peak in the Sawtooth Forest. And I thank you.