Idaho Wilderness Hearings

Statement:

Mr. Newbrey. My name is Jarrett Newbrey. And I live in Pullman, Wash. And I have lived in this area for the past 7 years. I came to see today because I feel very strongly about the issues that are being presented. I'm a school teacher. I teach in the Vet School at Washington State University. I started my teaching career at Boise High School in 1966. And my salary at that time was $5,000. I'm a user of wilderness areas. But I don't consider myself an elitist. And I certainly don't consider myself to make the amounts of money that some people have assumed that backpackers and wilderness users can be identified in. There are groups that those people can be identified in. I'm specifically concerned about the Kelly Creek area, the Cayuse Creek area, and the Toboggan Creek area. I would ask that those areas be included in the Great Burn Wilderness Area. Specifically after listening to testimony today, I would hope that that road that's into that area would allow access as it presently does and that somehow we could make that a boundary area. I wouldn't support logging in that area. But I would hope that there could be 735 wilderness from perhaps a guard station on without the inclusion of that road. If it had—if we had to exclude that road and make it a wilderness designation to prevent logging in that specific area, I would support that. The last thing I guess that I'd like to say is that I, as Mr. Greenfield has observed, have heard several testimonies today that seem to blame the acquisition of wilderness areas on unemployment in Idaho. And I would hope that somewhere in your investigation, Senator McClure, that you would see if you could verify that fact that there can be a connection. Because I suspect that, in fact, many of the logging companies may be using this as an excuse to close areas—or to close mills when, in fact, a downturn in the economy may be more responsible, really, than the acquisition of more wilderness areas. Thank you.