Opening statement
Congressman Larry LaRocco
Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands
June 23, 1992
Introduction:
Mr. Chairman, Thank you for holding this hearing today on
your package of wilderness management bills that would provide
new direction for federal land management agencies.
I would also like to extend a welcome to the Idahoan's who
made the long trip here to testify. Dr. John Hendee, Dean of the
College of Forestry, Wildlife, and Range Sciences at the
University of Idaho; and David Simmonds of the Idaho Conservation
League. {Forest Service?)
Mr. Chairman, wilderness is important to me for more than
just its intrinsic value. I am interested in wilderness
management for a more practical reason -- because it is my
backyard. And how it is managed greatly affects my constituents.
Idaho contains the largest area of designated wilderness in
the lower 48, most of which is in my district. One of the
designated areas is the 2.4 million acre Frank Church River of No
Return Wilderness -- the largest wilderness administered by the
Forest Service. My constituents work there -- as outfitters,
guides, ranchers and researchers -- and play there as hunters,
backpackers, anglers and cross-country skiers.
Although each of your bills H.R. 4325, 4326, 4327 deserve
attention at this hearing, I want to focus on Section 6 of H.R.
4325, the National Forest Wilderness Management Act, which
addresses consolidation and management of the Frank Church River
of No Return Wilderness.
The Frank Church Wilderness:
Mr. Chairman, as you know, I have been involved with the
Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness for a long time.
As Senator Church's North Idaho field representative, I
helped draw the boundaries for the Wilderness and organize field
hearings in 1980 on the Senator's Central Idaho Wilderness Bill.
I was fortunate to be on the floor of the Senate the day the bill
passed the Senate.
I also remember the Senator's colleagues rushing a bill
through Congress in 1984 to add the name "Frank Church" to the
wilderness just before he died. To have such a remarkable piece
of nature named after the Senator is a befitting tribute to the
role he played in protecting and managing Idaho's natural
resources.
Problems:
Problems with management of the Frank Church Wilderness were
cited in a September 1989 General Accounting Office report and
have been discussed in Congressional oversight hearings.
These investigations found the Wilderness in need of
consolidated management, comprehensive planning, structure and
garbage removal, a better public information system, better staff
training and career potential, among other things.
Concerns have also been raised about funds designated for
wilderness management not being spent as Congress intended -- on
wilderness management.
Last August, Mr. Chairman, you visited Idaho for a hearing
on my bill, H.R. 2141, and to inspect the Snake River Birds of
Prey Area near Boise. You then had the opportunity to travel
north and examine first-hand the management on the Frank Church
River of No Return Wilderness.
Changes:
Mr. Chairman, the idea of consolidating the Frank Church
Wilderness under one forest is beguiling and attractive. But, I
am also hearing from my constituents that land managers are
listening and that there have been a number of significant
management changes made since the 1989 GAO report and also your
visit last summer.
These changes were instituted primarily as a result of a
July 1990 Forest Service Administrative study which also
indicated a need for more consistent management, comprehensive
reporting, and better public involvement and information.
Since that time people on the ground have worked hard to
make needed changes. Administration of the Frank Church
Wilderness has been consolidated from six to four National
Forests, a wilderness coordinator has been hired, cultural as
well as recreational resources have been inventoried, maintained
and are being monitored.
Sixty percent of the nearly 2,720 miles of trails in the
wilderness were maintained or reconstructed during FY 91. During
1990 and through May of 1991, clean up work was done on seven
administrative sites and four lookouts. Eight structures and
23,125 pounds of trash and garbage were removed. Over 100
campsites were inventoried and cleaned of trash as part of the
"limits of acceptable change" monitoring program.
Over 100 miles of anadromous fisheries streams have been
evaluated and habitat conditions are being monitored. Research
projects are ongoing including the study of bighorn sheep
habitat, monitoring of raptor populations, aquatic systems and
the atmosphere.
The Forest Service has been working with outfitters to
implement the June 1990 Settlement Agreement. This Agreement
provides a schedule for adjustment of outfitter camp operations
to eliminate dumps, tent structures, furniture, plumbing,
obtrusive storage and permanent buildings. Ninety-seven percent
of the 88 reserved camps were expected to be in compliance with
the 1991 standards by the end of 1991.
And I have been assure}that in FY 91, all dollars allocated
for the Wilderness were spent in support of wilderness
management.
Mr. Chairman, I have heard from members of the Idaho
outfitters and Guides Association who have some concerns and I
would like to request that their testimony be inserted in the
hearing record.
Some outfitters who rely on access to the Wilderness for
their livelihood believe diversity in management could provide
future protection from a single overzealous wilderness manager
that may want to rewrite the Wilderness Act outside this
committee room.
~.J~II believe that if Congress says an airstrip should remain
~~p~n, then that airstrip should be open; and that the amending
process should remain here in this room, with these people at
these desks.
Mr. Chairman, while the idea of consolidation appeals to me
and I applaud any effort to make the Frank Church the
"wilderness flagship" of the world, this hearing will provide a
vital opportunity to hear from the ground up. Not only is this
helpful for management of the Frank Church Wilderness, but we
need to hear from those skilled and dedicated people who work
closely with the resource in all cases of forest management.
Mr. Chairman, again thank you for this hearing. I
appreciate your active interest in wilderness management and its
implementation on the ground and I look forward to this morning's
testimony.
Idaho Wilderness
