Delegation must act now on Scotchman

Today is a day for giving thanks for our blessings — for our family, friends, and a community rich in its strength and spirit; for the drop-everything-willingness to help one another because someone is hurting or in need; and for the natural wonders that surround us at every turn.

We are connected on these levels and so many more. We share the same hopes for peace and love, a safe place to lay our head at night, and the desire to pass on to our children and their children what it would be so easy to take for granted — this area’s uniqueness and beauty, key among them Idaho’s Scotchman Peaks.

We have delayed for too long the need to protect this special area. Calls to protect the Scotchmans have come from as diverse a group as you’re ever likely to see. There is strong public support from as diverse a group of individuals as you’re likely to see, from hunters to anglers, from local business owners to elected officials and governments, from timber interests, editorial boards, and outdoor recreation enthusiasts to Bonner County commissioners, Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce and Idaho Forest Group.

All agree — something rare in these contentious times — that this area is unique and must be preserved and protected.

The time has come for the Idaho congressional delegation — Sens. James Risch and Mike Crapo and Reps. Mike Simpson and Raul Labrador — to introduce legislation to protect Idaho’s Scotchman Peaks before any more time slips away, before yet another session of Congress passes into history. It is time to fulfill the vision that Sen. Risch laid out in May 2015 when he noted that the Scotchman Peaks were ready for consideration as Idaho’s next wilderness.

It is time to put aside the bickering and the squabbles and get to work. It is time to pass this important legislation that enjoys broad support in North Idaho.

Over 6,700 people have signed on as “Friends” of Scotchman Peaks — 80 percent of whom live within a two-hour drive of the area. These aren’t some stranger far away who couldn’t pick out area out on a map. These are folks who make their living here, who are raising their children, and who have a vested interest in the area’s future.

Looming above Lake Pend Oreille and the Clark Fork River in the West Cabinet Mountains, Scotchman Peak is the highest point in Bonner County, Idaho, at just over 7,000 feet. The Scotchmans’ jagged mountains and steep and deep valleys hold diverse communities of plants and animals, clear flowing streams and precious solitude.

Scotchman Peaks is home to grizzly bears, bull trout, Canada lynxes, wolverines, moose, and mountain goats. It’s low elevation boreal and old growth forests provide an ideal home for these and many more species of plants and wildlife.

People come to the Scotchman Peaks to hike, camp, snowshoe, cross-country ski, hunt, fish, forage for wild foods, and enjoy the solitude. Wilderness designation would protect these resources and recreational opportunities for now and for future generations.

The northern nine counties of Idaho contain many rugged, wild, roadless areas, but none are protected as wilderness. The time has come for that to change. The time has come for our congressional delegation to do what we have asked — repeatedly and with one voice — protect the Scotchmans with wilderness designation.

Jim McKiernan is publisher of the Bonner County Daily Bee. He can be reached at jmckiernan@bonnercountydailybee.com.