Idaho Wilderness Hearings

Statement:

Mr. John. Thank you, Senator. My name is Jerry John. And I'm a long-time resident of this area, 7 years, and have relatives who farm and work in the Boundary County area by Bonners Ferry. We'd like to thank you for this opportunity to testify. During my life, I've hiked and enjoyed many of the wilderness areas in this area. And I found Long Canyon to be by far the most unique. Two words to describe this area. My kids call it paradise in fairyland. In 1978, I wrote numerous letters including one to you, Senator. Thank you for your response. And all of the responses that I received were encouraging because they supported a final decision which hasn't been made yet, but that would be in the best interest of Idaho and the rest of the Nation. A decision that will have positive long-term impact on our social and economic future. The last year I participated in a graduate program at Eastern Washington University. And we collected some data from this area and people in this area. And the study concluded that the economic faith of this area is shifting from a resource-based economy, forest products, to a service-based economy led by tourism and recreation. Statistics indicated that a higher retirement populations resides in this area and that a labor force shift is going on to more of a service-based economy. People with a high need to recreate and spend money. In fact, every tourist there, the study says, that drops $1, that dollar turns itself over six times. And every time I go up there and spend money, I'm thinking about that. But I think what I'm saying is that this study supports a high utilization of the recreational opportunities like Long Canyon. And in the best interest of our future, I advocate that this canyon be protected and that it's left to its natural state to be enjoyed by us and our children.