Idaho Wilderness Hearings

Statement:

Mr. Young. It gives me a great deal of pleasure to testify before the Senate on the ninth anniversary of the resignation of Richard Nixon. Mr. Nixon was the one who allowed the agent orange; not on our enemies, but our own troops. only And today I'm here coming down from central Idaho to testify individual but as a member of the Sierra before you, not only as an Club. We have about 200 members in central Idaho and we are very disturbed that we didn't have an opportunity to have our own hearing in central Idaho where much of this wilderness land is. I have a long, lengthy statement that I have submitted for the record, but it is not within the confines of 2 minutes. With your permission, I'll read the last two paragraphs. I testify today to advise you truthfully that this land has already sacrificed enough of our public lands and our roadless areas to the insatiable appetites of energy, mineral, and forest products compa nies and their power-hungry politicians. As you know, Idaho's natural resources are not renewable; at least in a practical sense. As American approaches a new economic era that will necessi tate massive retraining programs for our people, we must act and live responsibly to insure that the American West is not destroyed. Our public roadless areas must be preserved if America's future freedoms, which include access to these lands by our people — and by all people — are to survive the test of time. Our Government must require the corporate mentality to disci pline itself and conserve public lands rather than nurture itself from them. I believe our public lands and our waterways of the Western United States are the key factors that will enable our country to survive and prosper for thousands of years. I urge you to exercise great caution prior to releasing our roadless areas at this time to corporate insensitivity and greed. Give those who understand best how to manage these lands parity with the corporations and allow them to study them in greater depth. Hear our pleas, and let us work with the Congress. We shall be fair, we shall be honest and we shall place equity