Idaho Wilderness Hearings

Statement:

CONSTRUCTION CO. Mr. Musselman. Honorable Senator McClure and Hearing Members. My name is Leo Musselman, president of Musselman Construction Co. of Orofino, Idaho. I would like to go on the record as being against any more wilderness or roadless areas. As a company, we employ 5 to 30 people each year who all live in the State of Idaho and 95 percent in Clearwater County. We have an average payroll of approximately $300,000 per year which 98 percent comes from the construction of roads for timber companies and the U.S. Forest Service. I feel the Forest Service with their 501 present method of building roads are doing a good job. They are going to great measures to protect streams from excessive sediment with their filter methods. I wholeheartedly believe in multiuse for our Federal forest and do not want to see any more forest locked up and not put to productive use. Senator, I would like to present to you some photos of actual construction being done on two different projects in the Clearwater Forest. One is in the Lochsa District and the other in the Pierce District. Nos. 1 through 8 are of a full bench road being constructed on the Lochsa District. One and two, right of way falling, clearing, and the start of construction. Three and four are hydraulic excavator carving out a cut and loading truck. Note excavator above truck working the soil out. No. 5 is cleaning spillage that has went over the side of the road. Six and seven, truck dumping at waste area and a dozer spreading material so as not to reach the stream below. No. 8, road excavated to subgrade. Upper ground slope and lower slope are the same grade percent—87 to 98 percent slopes. These pictures are on lower Deadman Road project which has a highly productive steelhead spawning stream below. Pictures 9 through 12 are on Knoll Creek Road project. These are of excavation for a large bottomless arch multiplate culvert. Nine and ten, excavation and dam built above culvert. No. 10 shows the diversion stream and temporary culvet and road. Note clearness of water in the temporary culvert. That's on your other page. Eleven and twelve are concrete truck with pumper truck and 70-foot boom to pour concrete into the forms with minimal disturbance to the stream. This is an example of how we can construct roads in the national forest with little environmental damage. Thank you for allowing me to present my views.