Idaho Wilderness Hearings

Statement:

CIVIC CLUB Ms. Carter. Senator McClure and staff, I am Florence Carter, president of the Sandpoint Civic Club, which is a General Federated Women's Club. It was founded in 1918 so we are not newcomers. I represent the 72 members. And as members, we work for the betterment of the community and the surrounding area. I wish to speak in defense of all wilderness in the Panhandle National Forest, in particular, Long Canyon. From information I've read, Long Canyon is the last major unroaded drainage in the Selkirks. We women of the Sandpoint Civic Club wish to go on record as protectors of this unique and beautiful area. 313 Idaho is second only to Alaska in wilderness area. This may seem excessive to some people but not to us. We treasure our wilderness areas and want to keep them as they are. There are many myths presented by people wanting the timber from these lands. Myths such as no hunting, no fishing, no mineral claims. These activities are allowed in Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management wilderness areas. Hunting is prohibited in national parks. At this time, mineral claims may be staked until December 31, 1983, and existing claims may be developed. I have recently visited the State of Maine where I was born and grew up. I was appalled at the condition of much of the timberland there. There is a very small national park on the coast of Maine, Acadia National Park. This is the total Federal land in the State of Maine. We don't want that happening in Idaho. There are some State owned lands in Maine, but the majority of the forest land is privately owned. In the area I visited, the forests have been slaughtered. This is the type of desecration I do not want to see happen in our Panhandle Wilderness. I am not a newcomer to Idaho. I have lived here 26 years. And this I consider my home. The Sandpoint Civic Club wishes to go on record to save these areas.