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Forum
, The Post-Register, Idaho Falls, Idaho, Sunday, August I 0, 1986 A -5
· Wilderness road
· no help to toUrism
By GRANT SIMONDS continues to increase. It has doubled
in the past 20 years in Idaho. Forest l
The Idaho outfitting and guiding Service 'igures for 1985 show 47,00 1
industry al?preciates Congressman
L
visitor days of recreation use in the
lary Craie s recent concern for pro- Sawtooth Wilderness, 96,00 in the
moung Idaho's third largest industry Selway-Bitteroot and 372,00 an the
- tourism. However, enhancing thas Frank Church River of No Return
$1.3-billion industry by constructing Wilderness.
a paved road across the (2.3 million Idaho's outfitting and guiding
acre, laist wilderness in the lowr industry is dependent on maintain-
48 states Frank Church River of No ing quality habitat for our fisheries
Return ilderness is not the kind of and big game herds. Idaho's largest
congressional assistance that tourism elk herd resides in the Chamberlain
and the outfitting and guiding indus- Basin, the heart of the Frank Church
try needs. Wilderness. (Many people consider
the spawning gravels of the South
Fork of the Salmon River to hold the
key to re-establishing the anadramous
fisheries in the wilderness,
even though roadbuilding in the
1960s led to severe siltatton of the
spawning beds.) The fragile and croSt
ve nature of the grantttc soils of the
Idaho Batholith that underlie a
maJOrity of the wilderness make
roadbuilding an unprofitable venture.
Guest opinion
Adequate access to the Frank
Church through existing transportation
systems is already in place.
Access to the wilderness is (currently)
available by motor vehicle,
fot or horse, boat, and aircraft.
.. According to the Frank Church
River of No Return Management
Plan, approximately 32 roads are
adjacent or lead to the wilderness
boundary. There are 66 recognized
trailheads that provide access to
2,616 miles of trails. No location in
the wilderness is more than five
miles from a trail or 12 miles from a
trailhead or other motorized access
point. Three primary raft launching
facilities serve as access for more
than 10,00 visitors annually on the
Middle and Main Forks of the Salmon
River.
Aircraft have provided access to
the wilderness for well over SO years.
There arc resently 24 active landing
strips withan the wilderness. It is estimated
that more than 4,40 aarcraft
landings occur within the area
annually . (Approximately 50 percent
of the 88 outfitters who operate in
the wilderness rely on these landing
strips. Air taxi operators in Cascade,
Challis, McCall, Salmon, Stanley,
Boise, and Grangeville realize a
major portion of their revenue from
wilderness charters.)
- Additionally, the airfields, jetboats,
and the "corridor" roads provide
the unusual opportunity for the
interested pubhc to visit or view
m u c h of t h e w i l d e r n e s s v i a
motorized transportation. While not
truly a wilderness experience, this
affords some of the enjoyment of
wilderness to those who would not
othrrwio;c bcndit such as the cldrrly
Congressman Craig could exert his
congressional influence by assisting
Idahoans in our effort to maintain
and improve existing access facilities
into and out of the wilderness.
Earlier this year, public input to
both President Reagan's Commission
on American Outdoors and
Governor Evans' Task Force on Idahoans
Outdoors indicated citizens
are very concerned about how recreation
user fees are collected and distributed.
Due to a trend of diminishing
Forest Service recreation budgets,
trails that appeared on 1964 maps of
what was then the Idaho Primitive
Area do not appear on recent maps
of the River of No Return Wilderness.
User fees that outfitters collect
and forward to federal management
agencies have increased 1 ,40 percent
since 1980. Idahoans feel these
and other recreation fees should
return to the point of collection for
enchancement and maintenance of
recreational facilities.
In conclusion, our 1985 industry
stud}' entitled "The Contribution of
Outfittin and Guiding to Idaho's
Economy • shows that the industry is
worth $38-million, an increase of 13
percent over the prevaous year. Further
roading of the Frank Church
River of No Return Wilderness is
not in the best interests of promotang
and maintaining a viable outtitllng
'I ntl '' • I •
'
- 1 3
The Post-Register, Idaho Falls, Idaho, Friday, February 28, 1986
Letters Idaho outfitters want
exclusive privileges
Editor, The Post-Register:
As a recreational geolofist and
prospector, I am following ' the outfitter"
issue with interest. Lawyer
Linville's protracted diatribe tended
to obscure the isues more than clarify
them. Perhaps if he had to type
hl5 own letters instead of dictate
them, he would have an incentive for
clarity and brevity.
It seems that the problem centers
on the outfitter's desire to maintain
exclusive privileges to use the few
prime campsites in the wilderness
area. Because of the ruggedness of
this region, level areas with spring
water are uncommon. I can understand
Mr. Spaletta's distress when,
with nightfall approachinB- he finds a
good unoccupied campstte declared
ofT-limits by a commercial outfitter
with the apparent blessing of the Forest
Service.
Mr. Linville did not make it clear
why the campsite requirements of a
person who hires a high-priced outfitter
are different from someone
who does not. It would seem that
regulations could permit an outfitter
to reserve a campsite for two week's
occupancy and not grant him squatter's
rights which seem to allow construction
of shacks, fences, piping for
water, etc., in what is aupposed to be
wilderneas. Mr. Linville seems to
demand unrealistic privileges so that
certain persons can earn income
from public lands.
G.A. Reimann
1775 Avalon St.
Idaho Falls
A-9
-::>
( --
January 21, 1986
Mr. John Barnes
Governor's Task Force
on Idahoans Outdoors
Dear Mr. Barnes:
Thank you for the oppor.tunity to provide my input on your review of
Idaho's outdoor recreation. The Idaho Outfitters and Guides Association
has appealed the Forest Service's Management Plan for the Frank
Church River of No Return Wilderness Area. I became officially involved,
as an affected third party, because I felt that the public user of
this wilderness area was not represented in this appeal. During this
appeal I have expressed my concern about the apparent exclusion of
public users from backcountry camping sites in the Frank Church-River
of No Return Wilderness that is a result of:
o Issuance of Forest Service special and exclusive use campsite permits
only to commercial outfitters. The Forest Service does not allow
0
the public to reserve campsites. Worse yet, exclusive or special
use permits have been issued to the comrercial outfitters at locations
designated by the Forest Service as public campsites. Some campsites
are reserved by the commercial outfitters for the entire period
of accessibility and many permit boundaries included the only springs
in adjacent areas.
Permitting the commercial outfitters to leave unoccupied tents and
structures and unused equipment at campsites. This practice further
restricts the number of campsites that are available for public
use.
o Maintenance of the trails to the campsites that are reserved by
the commercial outfitters are apparently budgeted for more funds
than for trail maintenance to the less attractive campsites that
could be used by the public, if accessible. Transfer of the responsibility
for maintenance of some Forest Service trails to the commercial
outfitters, as proposed in the Management Plan, will not resolve
this problem. If the commercial outfitter assumes these maintenance
responsibilities, he will also assume that the trails he maintains
are his trails.
I have included a copy of my most recent letter, dated November 21,
1985, to the Forest Service (Attachment 1) and a copy of our local
newspaper (The Post Register) editorial, dated January 19, 1986 (Attachment
2) which describe how the public has been and are being excluded
from public lands by commercial special interest groups.
The exclusion of the public from "public lands" is not unique to this
specific wilderness. I propose that the Forest Service practice of
granting exclusive use permits to commercial special interest groups
be discontinued. The rules that are applied to the commercial outfitters
should also be applied to the public users, including access of
the Forest Service's backcountry campsite reservation system. If you
would like further information on my proposal or on how the present
Forest Service rules affect the public, please call me at (208) 524-2912.
Attachments:
As Stated
cc: Cecil Andrus
Sincerely,
- ;. .c - /.r ,,. £
rd Spale
'-
a
475 Amy Lane
Idaho Falls, ID 83401
0
OUTFITTERS AND GUIDES ACT
AS AMENDED
IDAHO CODE - TITLE 36 - CHAPTER 21
Effective
July 1, 1984
For full document, please contact
Boise State University I Albertsons Library
Special Collections and Archives
1910 University Dr. Boise, ID 83725-1430
archives@boisestate.edu, 208-426-3958
