Idaho Wilderness Hearings

Statement:

Dr. Stone. Thank you. Senator, Mr. Symms, I'm Les Stone, a self-employed, small businessman and politically a conservative. I would like to encourage you to take a protectionist stand on many of our roadless areas. Protecting these areas and saving them for the future is just like putting money in the bank. They'll always be there if we decide later that we have to cut down the last tree or dig out the last bit of ore from the ground. Then we can always exploit the last elk habitat or run off the last grizzly bear or fill the last trout stream with silt. In the meantime, protecting these areas means protecting the habitat of Idaho's wildlife. It means protecting an environment that provides a lifestyle that can only be found in Idaho. If we only save half of our roadless areas as wilderness, that's only an additional 3.2 million acres. That still leaves 66 percent of the national forests in Idaho available for multiple use. Surely the cattlemen and the foresters, and miners can get along with 14 mil lion acres of forests. Senator, you're going to be making decisions that will have a permanent, nonreversible effect on our environment. Just look back 100 years when the buffalo and salmon were considered an inexhaustible resource. The decisions that were made almost exter minated both of those species. The greatest amount of pressure always comes from those who are only interested in the short-term, financial gain. It takes cour age and foresight to resist that pressure and preserve some of the natural beauty for our great-grandchildren. I would hope that future generations will be proud of us and thankful for reserving wildlife habitat in its natural state, the way God made it. Other wise, Senator, your grandchildren may ask you why you didn't help protect Idaho so that they could see and enjoy some of the same country that you can enjoy today. The resource commodities that people are wanting to take from these areas will only become more valuable with time. Let's post pone opening these areas up to big business for 100 years or so. In the mean time, the animals that depend on these areas for their habitat will thank you. Those of us that love Idaho because of its unique beauty will thank you. And, as the rest of the country be comes more overrun, your grandchildren will certainly thank you for saving some of this natural beauty for them. And I thank you, Senator.