Simpson continues to tweak wilderness plan

KETCHUM, Idaho — Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson says he intends to make minor changes in proposed legislation to create a new federal wilderness area in the Boulder and White Clouds mountains.

The modifications will be based on comments the Republican congressmen heard last week during two days of hearings in central Idaho.

Staff members are working on possible changes to the bill in response to public comments but have finalized none, Simpson spokeswoman Nikki Watts said Wednesday. A final draft should be made public by early August.

Simpson said he would decide then whether to hold another round of public hearings, based on the feedback from the formal legislation, he said.

The bill is unlikely to be considered in Congress this year because members are expected to adjourn by Oct. 1.

In the meantime, Simpson said, he will continue to accept written comments on the Central Idaho Economic Development and Recreation Act.

Simpson has called his proposal a preservation and economic stimulus plan for central Idaho. It designates 294,000 acres of wilderness in the Boulder-White Clouds area but keeps the Germainia Creek trail cutting between the Boulders and White Clouds open to motorized users, who have opposed past plans because they shut the trail down. Motors are banned in wilderness areas.

It put some areas popular with motorized users like the Fourth of July and Frog lakes in wilderness, while others favored by conservationists are left out of wilderness boundaries.

The plan would also transfer more than 1,000 acres of federal land to Custer County and would authorize a buyout of ranchers’ grazing allotments affected by the proposal.

Last week, Simpson hosted town hall meetings in Ketchum, Stanley and Challis. The opinions were strong and varied. Some people said the legislation failed to adequately protect enough land, while others said it locked motorized users out of too much territory.

Cheryl Hymas, a local horseback rider, said the Sawtooth Valley works as it is.

“This is the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, not the Sawtooth National Wilderness Area,” she said.

Allen Getty, a member of a Custer County economic stabilization committee, said past congressional action to limit uses on public lands have already taken a toll on the local economy.

“Look at our main street. It’s dead, and it’s all thanks to our congress and our government,” he said.

But celebrity and singer Carole King, also a 27-year Custer County resident, asked her neighbors to consider the possibilities of the legislation.

“We need to dream. We need to vision and imagine things outside the traditional,” she said. “We need something to disturb the economy, but were all afraid to grow.”