Idaho Wilderness Hearings

Statement:

d’ALENE, IDAHO Councilman McCrea. My name is Steve McCrea, city councilman for the city of Coeur d’Alene, I am an attorney. From my point of view and the point of view of the constituency who I represent, the primary issue today should not be a final determination of how much wilderness there should be in Idaho. The issue should be how much of the land can we preserve for future generations. As a city official, the decisions which I make are not always popular, but my decisions are made from the perspective of a trustee protecting the limited resources of the city for the citizens of the municipal corporation. We have to work with a fixed budget, even though the National Government does not. But there are only a finite amount of natural resources on this planet, in the Nation, and particularly in northern Idaho. The decisions that are made now should not be made which will reduce those last few remaining roadless areas if there is no overriding need. It's a fact that the city of Coeur d’Alene thrives on logging. Sev eral hundred people in the town are employed at the mills, and we have several hundred, if not several thousands, of independent loggers. Neither I nor the city council advocates doing away with the logging industry, nor anything of the sort. Everyone likes to go out in the woods and hunt and fish. Sharing the woods with a logging truck is not a problem, but I think that the majority of the people insist on some wilderness. The critical issue as to the decision of exactly how much is not one that should be made at the present time. The decision that is being made today could affect my children and grandchildren. The decisions should not be made now, but when the need arises. The roadless land we have now is like money in the bank, except for the fact it can never be renewed. Once the road is built, the character of the land changes forever. As a legislator, I would ask you to please take a lesson from the cities and conserve as much as you can until the need arises. Thank you.