Idaho Wilderness Hearings

Statement:

Mr. Owens. My name is Phil Owens. And I'm speaking on behalf of myself, not a special interest group. I've lived in Kootenai County for 10 years and have been a resident of what we call the 51st State all my life, northern Idaho. And I was born in Spokane. I'm speaking in really two areas. One is my own personal experience in Long Canyon. About 3 years ago I and a group of four or five other guys made the mistake of hiking the entire canyon in 1 day—about 20 miles. We made it out, but I remember that just as if it was yesterday. It was just a unique experience. The Rain Forest aspect of it—the canyon is so unique compared to the Alpine—the Selkirk Crest, which is somewhat barren. It's pretty in its own respects, but it's barren compared to the lustiness, the mushrooms, and the greenery of the canyon. Even though we went in September and it was a dry summer, it was still green. I recently returned from Mount Rainier State Park—National Park over there. And I was hiking around in the woods there. I just kind of remembered Long Canyon. There were so much similarity. And I think it's so unique that it's worth preservation. The second point I wanted to make was the economics. I think backpackers and campers probably spend more money in a small community. We hit the rain in Mount Rainier. And you can enjoy the rain so much. But you have to get out, warm up, go in and have a cold drink and a warm hamburger. And I think people that go to Long Canyon—even though they re only from Coeur d’Alene or Kootenai County, I think they're going to spend some time and spend some money in Bonners Ferry up there. So I think in that respect, it benefits the community itself. Thank you.