month before his tragic and untimely death spoke to a group of 

 about 200 pubHc land users in Rapid City. I want to use some ex- 

 cerpts from what he said at that time here. 



"Number one on my list of concerns is continued support on a 

 local, State, and federal level for multiple use management of our 

 national forest lands." 



He also said, "The mining industry has accepted reasonable reg- 

 ulation and taxation. But we must guard against those who would 

 overzealously regulate mining, as well as the timber industry and 

 the cattle rancher, out of business. Likewise, grazing has been an 

 important industry here. Responsible grazing can complement effi- 

 cient management of our forests and grasslands. 



But as I speak to you today, the timber industry is in a crisis. 

 Both in the short and long term, the supply of logs is uncertain. 

 We have lost at least 80 jobs this year, and I fear we will lose more 

 in the near future." And we did. "These jobs, too, are some of our 

 highest paying, full-time, permanent jobs. Unlike mining, these 

 jobs are not dependent upon a finite resource like gold ore, but on 

 trees, a renewable resource. You cannot convince me we should be 

 losing jobs in the timber industry. 



The longer-term question is how much timber will be available 

 from the Black Hills National Forest. There are concerted efforts 

 underway to curtail timber harvesting not only here but Nation- 

 wide. 



He also said that virtually every benefit we derive from our 

 forest requires management. He said, "I believe the best and most 

 cost-effective management is a responsible combination of commer- 

 cial logging, precommercial thinning and prescribed burning when 

 and where it can be safely accomplished." 



I don't want to skip what he said about the wilderness situation, 

 so let me get to that, leaving out some of the things I would like to 

 say. But he says, "I haven't yet mentioned the wilderness areas. 

 Let me do so briefly. I do not support additional wilderness areas 

 for two primary reasons. First, the works of man are so prevalent 

 in the Black Hills there is really no true wilderness left to pre- 

 serve. And second, because a true wilderness must be natural. 

 Without the free reign of fire, no wilderness area in the Black Hills 

 will be natural. But we cannot allow fire to burn unchecked. 



Also, I am not convinced wilderness areas will attract additional 

 tourists to the Black Hills, but I do know they could adversely 

 affect ranching, timbering, and our most popular forms of recrea- 

 tion. 



On balance, I am convinced that further designation of wilder- 

 ness areas will harm, rather than help, the economy and will be 

 detrimental to a healthy forest ecosystem." 



Let me summarize quickly with five very brief points about the 

 wilderness proposal from my standpoint. This is not what Governor 

 Mickelson said. These words are mine. First, every tree presently 

 standing in the existing Black Elk Wilderness Area and any future 

 wilderness area will one day die a natural death. And I think 

 that's an obvious fact. 



No. 2, as described by Custer and Dodge, the most likely agent of 

 death will be wildfire. I add that the second most likely cause of 

 death will be an epidemic of bark beetles. 



