Idaho Wilderness Hearings

Statement:

Ms. Bates-Harbuck. I would like to speak in favor of wilderness designation for Salmo-Priest and Long Canyon in the Panhandle and Bighorn/Weitas and Great Burn/Cayuse in the Clearwater National Forest. Each of these areas does contain timber, but each has other, more important values. Salmo-Priest has virgin forests, mountain caribou and grizzly, all three endangered entities. Together with the contiguous acreage in Washington, the area would make a spectacular wilderness with the combination of high peaks and dense forests that set America apart from other nations. Long Canyon is the last major unroaded drainage in the Selkirks; that uniqueness alone should be enough to qualify it for wilderness status. It also has old growth forests, essential habitat for pileated woodpeckers, fishers and martens, and a wonderful opportunity for soul-renewing solitude. The latter is becoming ever more important as the population and development in north Idaho increase. The Bighorn/Weitas and Great Burn/Cayuse are home to one of the largest elk herds in Idaho, world class trout fishing in Kelly Creek, numerous deer, moose, bear, bobcat, cougar, beaver, and osprey as well as the endangered Rocky Mountain timber wolf. God gave these animals as much right to life as He gave us. Humans have amply demonstrated that we cannot share the land we claim as habitat with most other creatures. Therefore, land must be set aside where, while we are not excluded, the needs of wildlife come first. One of the most remarkable things about the Bighorn/Weitas and Great Burn/Cayuse is the incredibly clear water. Even after weeks of rain, the streams are like finest crystal. Logging and roads, with their unavoidable disturbance of the ground cover, muddy streams and can damage spawning grounds and lower the quality of fishing. The above areas are already providing the multiple uses of watershed, recreation in the form of hunting, fishing, skiing, hiking and off-road vehicles, and some grazing for the pack stock of outfitters. That is enough to ask. Let timber harvest happen elsewhere. Thank you. 347