Idaho Wilderness Hearings

Statement:

ASSOCIATION Mr. Grim. Thank you, Senator. I'm also a member of the Salmon River Breaks Association who are outfitters, hunters, and fishermen. The area I'd like to focus on is, again, the Dixie Country. The areas in question is the southern part of the Red River District, part of the national forest from the Gospel Hump Wildneress on the west to Bargamin Creek on the east. And the Salmon River is a very controversial issue at this time. All along this road—proposed Jersey Jack Road—they have primary and secondary roads that cut off from it. The timber in that area will not even begin to pay for the construction of this road. On page II, you will see many roads in the whole area. These go into real important watersheds for all types of game. And many people that have talked about this issue today have failed to mention the moose. There's a lot of moose in this country. And we're talking about elevations from 5,500 to 6,800 feet. Lodgepole is your dominant species followed by spruce and scattered fir. 674 This area, particularly right around Dixie, has six timber sales which are going to be in process very shortly until this lawsuit came about. Thousands of acres were going to be clearcut. This area cannot afford to have that many acres stripped because of the watershed. We do need it for control of the Salmon River. From Dixie to the Salmon River, which is approximately 9 miles, we're talking about an elevation drop of 6,200 feet to 2,200 feet to give you an idea of the type of runoff that can possibly happen. Many people use this country for recreation. And it's very important that we maintain that. And the organization that I belong to, the Salmon River Breaks, would like to see this set aside as a national recreation area.