Idaho Wilderness Hearings

Statement:

Mayor Pluid. I have lived in Boundary County, Idaho, for the past 40 years. I have worked as a logging contractor in the forests of Boundary County for the past 34 years. I have worked in and spent a great deal of my leisure time in every roaded canyon on the west side of Boundary County and the northern part of Bonner County. It has been my experience in every one of these drainages that just a few minutes walking time in nearly any direction you can find peace and quiet and obtain the feeling of aloneness, which I value very much. I have been in Long Canyon on several occasions, the first being in 1949. At that time you could catch 50 fish in a half hour easily. The last time I was there, I fished for 4 hours and caught only eight fish, and I saw more sign of man's presence that I have in many areas of the roaded canyons. I had the experience of operating a bulldozer for 24 days on the Trapper Peak fire in 1967. It was a horrible thing to see and to be involved in. It started at the head of the Cow Creek drainage, and there was no road in Cow Creek. I worked with my cat and others for 3 days building an access road to the fire. By the time we reached the fire, it had covered more than 2,000 acres. Had we been able to get to the fire the first day, it could have well made a big difference in the outcome. But because it had such a start, it burned over 16,000 acres, and is not a very pretty sight today. I have spent many hours walking a large portion on the Selkirk Crest. It is a beautiful area, and because of the topography and the low timber value, it sould and will remain nearly as it is today. For the foregoing reasons and the fact that I love Boundary County and the people that have helped make and keep it as it is now, I don't feel Boundary County needs any wilderness areas. If the rest of the timbered areas of the State are at all like Boundary County, I don't think the State of Idaho needs any more designated wilderness. Also, as mayor of Moyie Springs I would like to present in evidence a resolution passed by the city council of Moyie Springs.