Idaho Wilderness Hearings

Statement:

Mr. Van Zomeren. My name is John Van Zomeren. And I've lived in Northern Idaho for 14 years, both in Boundary County and Bonner County. And I would like to see the Long Canyon drainage be declared a wilderness area. I've come to the conclusion that, unless people outside the Forest Service and the lumber industry take a stand, that in a short number of years there will be no old growth timber left in Northern Idaho. Why should our children have to learn secondhand what the forests were once like? Why not give them the opportunity to see and enjoy it for themselves? Long Canyon is an ideal candidate for a wilderness area because of the old growth stands of trees, because it ties into the Selkirk Crest Area, and, also, because the proposed Pacific Northwest Trail would pass through it. As a wilderness area, it would be a real economic asset to Boundary County. It would help the tourist industry. Something that the residents of Boundary County are starting to take more seriously. Also, being able to live in a community near a wilderness area is attractive to many people. The Forest Service is a very effective machine for cutting down trees but not nearly as effective in providing for the real needs of an area. Particularly the long-term needs. Because of subsidized road building, for example, areas which normally would not be logged are logged. Sales of timber in the Long Canyon drainage would not pay for the cost of building roads. Road costs there are estimated to be from 50 to 250 percent higher than in other areas. If it wasn't for Forest Service subsidization, this area would not be 327 considered for logging. With the subsidization, even the most difficult areas can be made profitable to the lumber industry. In fact, the more it costs to build roads, the more money flows back into the local community. While subsidization may have been a reasonable approach when virgin timber supplies were plentiful, it is not today. It is making communities do what is really against their long-term interest. If the Forest Service is going to subsidize, I would like to see them subsidize more reforestation and selective logging on a sustained-yield basis.