After reading Stan Myers’ highly misleading letter regarding the proposed Scotchman Peaks Wilderness Area, I felt the need to set the record straight, putting a halt to the anti-wilderness misinformation campaign taking place in our county. As an Idaho native and Clark Fork resident who has spent considerable time recreating and working in wilderness areas, there are few things I value more about the great state of Idaho than its abundant wilderness.

These areas offer superior hiking, hunting, and fishing opportunities compared to non-wilderness areas, in addition to the increasingly rare experience of solitude while engaging in those activities. The healthiest and most productive timber stands are found in these remote areas, precisely because of the lack of human “management,” or rather mismanagement, since that’s the effect human intervention seems to have on public lands. I suspect Myers has never stepped foot in most (if any) of Idaho’s wilderness areas, and he doesn’t know what he’s missing.

Contrary to what Myers has claimed, the Forest Service did in fact present their proposed recommendation to the city of Clark Fork: it was at the high school, I was there along with many others, and it did an excellent job of addressing the various fictitious claims that have been the basis for opposition to wilderness designation. It was at this presentation that many Clark Fork residents expressed their enthusiasm and support for this proposal ­— the opposite of the “formal rejection” that Myers falsely referenced in his letter. It comes as no surprise that Myers is from Hope, not Clark Fork. Dan Rose and Stan Myers might be much happier living in states with less wilderness, where they would no longer have to live in fear of “catastrophic wildfires” that actually benefit Idaho’s forest ecosystems and wildlife (these gentlemen would find the states of Ohio, New York, and Massachusetts particularly appealing, since they practically lack wilderness). Then they can leave Idaho to those of us who love Idaho the way it is: wild.

Bonner Country residents should vote “yes” on the wilderness question on the May 15 ballot.

NATTY ROLE

Clark Fork