Idaho Wilderness Hearings

Statement:

Commissioner Neumeyer. Senator McClure, my name is Bob Neumeyer, rancher and county commissioner for Boundary County. I'm speaking for myself and the majority of the commissioners in Boundary County. I ranch just south of Long Canyon and at the foot of the Selkirk Mountains. I have ridden horseback the e. tire length of Long Canyon and much of the Selkirk Crest. I'm a hunter, fisherman, and consider myself a conservationist in the full sense of the word and believe multi use is the only way to manage the balance of our forest. As a commissioner spending the past 3 weeks on our county budget, I realize how important the forest revenue is to our economy. I don't believe we can afford to tie up large areas of timber forever but they best serve the most by multi-use. With a 'Wilderness' classification and the reduction of the allowable harvest, the financial problems of our county and schools would be compounded. Just a few years ago our county received over $500,000 from the 25 percent fund of forest revenue. This past year this was cut to $156,000. If the allowable harvest was reduced our roads would suffer even more than they have and it would become financially impossible to return them to the level of past years. As a rancher, I believe in conserving all of our natural resources. We utilize all resources on our ranch including the straw in the fields. I can't support leaving mature trees to rot, or worse yet, becoming fuel for a forest fire. I believe there are ways of harvesting these mature trees without harming the environment. I would support snow roads and road and road closures after harvesting the timber. I believe I enjoy the mountains and outdoors as much as any person in this room but feel the best managaement of our forest is where the most people can be served.