Idaho Wilderness Hearings

Statement:

Mr. Small. Yes, thank you. I'm Robert Small from Moscow. And I came from the midwest a year ago. And the reason for coming out here wasn't for all the jobs and all the nice things like that but for the wilderness itself. And I think that I would have to say that we need as much wilderness as we can possibly get. And I have they're going to be losing jobs. I think there's some merit in that. But I think there's other jobs available to them also. I think that— well, I was talking to a ranger on the Red River District, Bill Hayes. And he said that most of the old logging roads that were built still contributed considerable amounts of silt and sedimentation in our streams. With those roads could we go back—we could go back and fix them. Also, I think that there should be some work done in the reforestation area. I was up at Black Lake in the Mallard-Larkins area and looked across at Scull Creek and noticed extensive clear-cutting. I talked to the man who was running the lookout up on Black Mountain. He said they were—most of those were cut in the late sixty's. And they tried to replant them three or four times and they just didn't take. Also, I've seen some of the damage that has occurred up by Elk Summit. And some irresponsible logging, I guess would be the best way to put it. It's phenomenal the things that go on as far as being detrimental to our fish an wildlife qualities and the aesthetic value of our wilderness. I think that if we preserve wilderness, we will be a lot better off in the long run because we'll be attracting the tourist dollar and also attracting many people who are in higher industries out here and just for the recreational benefits. I'd also like to say that I don't support the hard release because that prevents us from having other options later on. Thank you very much.