53 



statement o£ 



Congressman Larry LaRocco 



H.R. 3732 

 The Idaho Wilderness, 

 Sustainable Forests and Communities Act of 1994 



May 19, 1994 



Mr. Chairman, thank you for scheduling this hearing. As you 

 know, on March 15, the Natural Resources Subcommittee on National 

 Parks, Forests and Public Lands held the first Washington hearing 

 on H.R. 3732. And today, I appreciate your assistance in moving 

 my bill further along the legislative process. 



Although there will continue to be opportunities to improve 

 H.R. 3732 through the Committee and legislative process, much 

 work has been done to bring us this far. Mr. Chairman, I would 

 like to tell you a little about what it takes to introduce a 

 wilderness bill in Idaho. 



In December of 1992, I began a series of eight town meetings 

 across the First District which were attended by more than 2,000 

 Idaho citizens. I devoted some 27 hours to listening to 326 

 speakers express their views at the microphone concerning 

 management of Idaho's roadless lands. 



Let me summarize the repeated themes I heard during those 

 meetings: First, Idahoans stated the timing was right. Second, 

 they called for certainty and asked that the bill be more than 

 just a wilderness bill. Third, they expressed a desire to focus 

 on specific areas. Fourth, they indicated a need to protect 

 current jobs and create new jobs. Fifth, I heard that wilderness 

 values are changing. Beyond recreation, many Idahoans expressed 

 concerns about wildlife habitat, water quality and healthy forest 

 ecosystems. 



During the several months following the town meetings, I 

 assigned two professional staff members, experienced in natural 

 resource issues, to follow up on the town meetings by 

 interviewing groups and individuals who expressed deep concern 

 about the outcome of an Idaho wilderness bill. 



More than 120 contacts were made including representatives 

 from: academia, the timber industry, loggers, labor unions, 

 scientists, biologists, tree planters, elected officials, 

 outfitters and guides, jet boaters, Federal and State agency 

 personnel, ORV users, hunters, anglers, miners, ranchers, 

 farmers, educators, environmentalists, snowmobilers and Native 

 Americans. 



