Idaho Wilderness Hearings

Statement:

Dr. Newcombe. My name is Ray Newcombe, and I'm a practicing physician in Bonners Ferry. At this time I plan to quickly summarize my feelings regarding wilderness areas for Boundary County. I believe Long Canyon and Selkirk Crest should be designated as wilderness. The first point I would like to address is that on the issue update sent to some but not all Idaho citizens. The information you receive in this questionnaire is not completely valid and should not be used in determining public opinion. Not all citizens got questionnaires. I for one did not receive one, and I have written to you on numerous occasions, and, therefore, your office should have my address. I know of many other people who favor preserving Long Canyon who also did not receive a questionnaire, and these people have written to you expressing their views on Long Canyon, and, therefore you should have their address, also. These omissions will result in biased data leading toward not making Long Canyon wilderness. Second, proposals on the questionnaire do not do justice to those of us wishing to see Long Canyon designated wilderness. The choices between proposals 3 and 4 result in choosing between asking for an excessive amount of wilderness land or not including Long Canyon as wilderness. More specifically, proposal 3 does not include Long Canyon, and this proposal asks for a 1-million acre increase in wilderness lands of Idaho. Then, the questionnaire jumps to proposal 4, which contains Long Canyon, but also contains many other areas resulting in a total proposal of 4 V2 million acres. Therefore, if someone wants to include Long Canyon in your Wilderness bill, then they must select proposal 4 which is too uncompromising. This will label or designate those people as being radical environmentalists who are asking for too much. This is another method of steering your data to favor the timber industry. My next point is concerning the amount of timberlands in Idaho—I'm sorry, concerning the amount of wilderness land in Idaho. In a letter you sent to me on January 25, 1983, you stated, quote, 'Now the major question for Idaho in regard to land designations: How much wilderness is enough?' unquote.