Idaho Wilderness Hearings

Statement:

Mr. Douchane. Senator McClure, my name is Andre Douchane. Idaho has within its boundaries currently 3,800,000 acres of land which are permanently withdrawn from multiple use. Special interest groups are again advocating withdrawal of more lands from multiple use. We do not need a Sierra Club or other self-serving, well-financed, out-of-State special interest groups dictating how we will utilize our lands. We are strongly in favor of protecting and maintaining our natural heritage, but not for the sole benefit of a select few. Idahoans are supported by basic industries, industries that need the land. We are strongly committed to the employment of Idahoans, and their basic right to access the land. This land, if it is gone, what are we leaving our children? No employment, no place to live, except possibly some city slum. We have already locked up 131 many basic building blocks: farmlands, timber, and the only source of cobalt in the United States. Why? We knew it was there, we needed them. If Idahoans want to continue living and working in this State, we must decide whether to become a national playground for the rich under Federal control or to keep a portion of Idaho for Idahoans and our way of living, both economically and traditionally. ASARCO owns a number of unpatented mining claims covering a molybdenum deposit located on Little Boulder Creek in Custer County in the Sawtooth National Forest. In 1972, a national recreation area was created