Idaho Wilderness Hearings

Statement:

Mr. Sisco. Senator McClure and members of the panel. I am Lee Sisco, this is Don Dressen and Wilbur Stepp. We are owners of DDouble-S Outfitters, Inc. We come before this subcommittee wearing two hats; one as businessmen and the second as concerned sportsmen and citizens of Idaho. We don't have any recommendations for wilderness throughout Idaho, but do have some specific requests for the Clearwater River Drainage. Our outfitting business is located on the Cayuse Creek Drainage, which is a tributary of Kelly Creek; part of the North Fork of the Clearwater River. Our request is that Kelly and Cayuse Creeks and their tributaries, also known as the Great Burn Area, be designated wilderness in your upcoming wilderness bill. At the present time, roads are being proposed and surveyed through the heart of our outfitting area. If the roads and subsequent logging occurs, it will put us out of business. No way can we survive with roads running the length and breast of Cayuse Creek. Multiple use of the area means one thing and one thing only— roads and logging. Forest Service personnel in the area have frankly admitted to us that the timber value will not even cover the cost of road construction. To make outfitting a viable business, large areas of unroaded wilderness must be preserved. So, as a small business, who's survival depends upon an unroaded wilderness, we urge you to preserve the Great Burn Wilderness Area. The second hat we wear is that of the Idaho sportsman. Kelly and Cayuse Creeks are nationally ranked, blue ribbon Western Slope cutthroat trout fisheries. Kelly Creek and its tributaries are probably the finest completely natural Western Slope cutthroat trout areas in the United States. We can't imagine even considering reading or logging and the subsequent silting that will occur to a national treasure like this drainage. Cayuse Creek has an abundance of other wildlife that should be protected by the wilderness designation. Cayuse Creek and tributaries support between 800 and 1,200 head of elk, both summer and winter. Moose are also abundant, and are on the upswing due to the remoteness of the area according to the Idaho Fish and Game. Also, whitetail and mule deer, plus black bear are plentiful. One of the last grizzly bear sightings in the Clearwater drainage was on Cayuse Creek. Our hunters last season saw two wolves which indicates the need to leave the area unspoiled. Obviously, if the area will attract a small wolf population, this is a good indicator of the wildlife supporting ability of the region. Idaho has a chance to preserve a resource that could be lost forever; god is not making more wilderness. We can't believe that the preservation of the Great Burn Area will make a drastic change in the economy of Northern Idaho. Remember, in the 75 years since the big burn, harvestable timber still has not regenerated. After it's logged, what do we do for the next 120 years. 633 Idaho is called the gem State; mining and logging may be gems now in the State, but outdoor recreation is the brightest of the stones. Without preserving the most valuable gem, wilderness, Idaho will loose its brilliance. So, again we urge you to preserve the Great Burn Area. Thank you.