Idaho Wilderness Hearings

Statement:

Ms. Clark. As chairperson of Boundary County School District 101, Bonners Ferry, I am presenting to you our resolution, approved unanimously by our five-member board on August 9, 1983, in open session at our regularly scheduled public meeting. Our resolution states that the economy of Boundary County directly affects the economy of local schools. The economy of Boundary County is dependent upon the timber natural resource. Boundary County School District depends upon in-lieu-of-tax forest funds for educational equipment and transportation equipment. Reduction in the annual cut has already had a large negative impact upon the school budget. The multiple-use concept would benefit all citizens, and we support the multiple-use desgnation for the Long Canyon area, and support the 1971 joint State of Idaho-U.S. Forest Service plan for the Selkirk Crest. There has been a sharp decline in forest funds revenue received by our local district in the last 4 years: 1981 revenue was $212,000; 1981, revenue was $133,000; 1980, $148,000; and 1983, only $61,000, with the major expenditures from these funds used for storage areas for the high school, supplementing lunch programs, and maintaining our schools, and mainly buying school buses. Our county, which consists of only about 30 percent taxable property, has put undue burden on our taxpayers and is jeopardizing our maintaining functional school facilities because of our loss of forest funds revenue. We feel Boundary County's most important resource, our children, are being overlooked by those considering putting all of the forest lands surrounding them in a look-but-don't-touch status. Thank you.