Idaho Wilderness Hearings

Statement:

Mr. Verner. I'm directing my comments to Lick Creek, French Creek, Rapid River and that part of the Gospel Hump from Smith Knob across to the South Fork and to the Pilot Peak area. These areas have high values for wilderness, hunting, fishing, hiking and camping. It has extremely steep slopes and very fragile soils. In the past, road building in this type of terrain has caused very much damage. I support wilderness classification for these areas. I have hiked and ridden some of the trails in these areas and in stayed on the trail, damage was slight. But of all the trails I've hiked, all the trails I have hiked which have seen bike use, have suffered. It appears that very few bike riders can resist the temptation to cut switchbacks and ride across coun try. The misuse of a trailbike can cause a great deal of damage. The timber industry claims that they need more timber. But at the same time they call for a 5-year extenison on the timber con tracts already bought. To me this just sounds like a lot of double talk. The Forest Service objective of the greatest good for the greatest number of people will be best met by wilderness classification. Thanks.