Scotchman's circle of friends
KEITH KINNAIRD/Hagadone News Network | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 10 years, 3 months AGO
CLARK FORK - Friends of Scotchman Peak Wilderness hosted an ascent of the group's namesake peak on Saturday as part of Bonner County's employee wellness program.
The group, which included county commissioners Glen Bailey and Cary Kelly, attained the 7,009-foot summit of Scotchman Peak after about four hours of hiking, most of which was done under favorable weather conditions.
The temperature on the summit was measured at 37 degrees, however, and the wind chill factor drove that figure somewhere into the teens.
Both Bailey and Kelly support the wilderness designation proposal, which some consider quite notable given their party affiliations and efforts to preserve motorized access in the Idaho Panhandle National Forests.
"I'm in favor of it because it's a unique area and we'd like to preserve that for posterity," Bailey said Monday.
Kelly said he has supported the Scotchman proposal for years because it has garnered broad and diverse support in the community, including from timber and mining companies.
"There is not a clamor for other uses and there has been wide support in Bonner County for the designation of Scotchman's," Kelly said.
Kelly said the steep terrain and soil composition make it ill-suited for logging, and other businesses in Bonner County support it because it lures visitors up its flank to take in expansive views of Lake Pend Oreille.
Prior Republican county commissions have also voiced support for Scothman's wilderness designation.
However, Bailey said the proposed buffer zone in the wilderness proposal could restrict motorized access, which is of concern. Bailey said other wilderness proposals have grandfathered traditional uses, and hopes that could be achieved at Scotchman.
Meanwhile, the commission is working with the U.S. Forest Service to preserve motorized access elsewhere in the forest in places designated primitive or recommended wilderness.
The commission is planning on again invoking coordination with the agency in an attempt to exert influence on the forest planning process.
"We have already requested it one time with the Forest Service and we're going to request it again," Kelly said.
ARTICLES BY KEITH KINNAIRD/HAGADONE NEWS NETWORK
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