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and the Main Salmon and Snake Rivers (which are motorized rivers). These are 

 the four most popular Whitewater rivers in Idaho. Private permits are issued 

 through a lottery system, wherein the more applications for the lottery, the less 

 chance one has of obtaining a permit. 



The success ratio for the Middle Fork and Selway are 19:1 and 24:1, respectively. For 

 the Main Salmon and Snake, it is 5:1 and 2:1, respectively. Thus, a person has about 

 a 30 percent chance of obtaining a permit for one of the motorized rivers, but less 

 than a 5 percent chance of obtaining a permit for one of the nonmotorized rivers. 

 (See, Exhibit H.) 



This is as clear an indication as exists that in fact, people who float rivers prefer a 

 nonmotorized experience. However, additional proof of the preference for a 

 nonmotorized experience can be found in a survey of the most heavily motorized 

 Whitewater river, the Snake. 



2) Three surveys have been conducted that obtained public response to issues 

 surrounding management of the HCNRA. Two of these are specific to the Snake 

 River. They surveyed all recreationists, nonmotorized and motorized. All of these 

 surveys indicate that jet boats are in fact the number one "problem" on the river. 



The first survey was conducted by the University of Idaho in 1988, when jet boat use 

 of the Snake River was about half of current levels. The survey asked about 

 encounters with a wide variety of things or situations, and asked which of these 

 were "not a problem," a "minor problem," or a "major problem." 



The two leading vote-getters for major problems were "Noise from powerboats," 

 and "powerboats on the river." These were also the two leading vote-getters for 

 minor problems. (See, Exhibit I.) 



The second survey, conducted by Dr. E.B. Eiselein in 1994, asked respondents to rank 

 the human activities which are "not compatible with your idea of best stewardship" 

 of the HCNRA. The number one vote-getter for non-compatible human activity 

 was "motorized recreation." (See, Exhibit J.) Jet boats were named specifically, and 

 were relatively high on the list of non-compatible activities, though were not rated 

 as high in the non-compatible category as motorized use in general. 



The third survey, conducted by Washington State University in 1995, asked people 

 who had been on the Snake River to name the most negative aspect of their 

 experience. Jet boats were by far the leading vote-getter, pulling in more than three 

 times the votes than the next negative aspect of their trip, which was the weather. 

 (See, Exhibit K.) 



These surveys actually understate the widespread negative public perceptions of jet 

 boats. In a 1993 declararion to the U.S. District Court, Dr. Stewart Allen of the 

 University of Idaho stated that the 1988 University of Idaho survey only contacted 



Testimony of HCPC on River Management 



