Arpie: Wilderness Frees My Soul

Arpie: I am so glad there are untrammeled places where the hand of man is minimized. These places feed my soul. I’m glad our government continues to work to set aside such places and insure they will be there in perpetuity. As for locking up resources, very little of Idaho’s wilderness has ever been in the timber base and suitable for harvest. Most of our Wilderness is high “Rock and Ice” or too remote to be commercially viable to get. (Rest of comment below)

Question: Where’s your favorite wilderness getaway?

Of the Wilderness proposals I’m familiar with up this way that is still mostly true. The Scotchman Peaks area above Clark Fork is considered too steep to log. The Selkirks potential Wilderness is the same way with one big exception- Long Canyon. Long Canyon sits on the east Side of the Selkirks p past Bonners Ferry. It is the last unroaded canyon in the Selkirks and is home to one of the largest intact inland temperate rainforests left. A small place with 300+ year old cedar hemlock and white pine giants. These places need to be preserved so that future generations can get an inkling of what everything used to be like.

I’m not talking about locking up everything. I know I live in a wood house heated with wood. I just think that we can balance our needs to use with preserving the best of what’s left.

I ‘ve never understood why conservatives don’t conserve.