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Let me start by saying I am not a hunter, but during our recent radio program about the proposed Scotchman Peaks Wilderness, I asked Dan McDonald, Tony McDermott and Stan Myers off-air about elk, which I heard were declining in our area and whether wilderness would be good for elk.

I was surprised to learn that there are now fewer elk in many wilderness areas in Idaho and Montana, due to many factors, including the reintroduction of wolves and the complete lack of forest management in wilderness. Elk that normally move back and forth from mountains in the summer to valleys in the winter are now staying all year in the valleys, finding safe havens from predators and abundant food. This puts a burden on farmers and adds stress to the elk, living close to people, domestic animals, roads and railroads year around. Wilderness areas are filling with fallen dead trees, killed by insects, disease and fire. Elk avoid areas of massive fallen trees as much as people do.

Recent lawsuits by radical environmental groups in the Frank Church Wilderness blocked the Idaho Department of Fish & Game’s ability to manage wildlife in wilderness. For this reason, IDF&G does not support more wilderness in Idaho at this time. Besides improving wildlife habitat, logging, thinning and controlled burning improve forest health. Roads can function as fire breaks and increase access for fire-fighting. At 4.8 million acres, we have an abundance of wilderness in Idaho. What we really need is forest management.

DEBBIE TRINEN

Nordman