There are probably two things on which we will all agree: one, The Boulder White Clouds is a special place deserving of protection and 2 that there is a need for wilderness in today’s world. It provides us with a place to get back to our roots, face nature on its own terms. It also provides opportunities for scientists to evaluate from where we have come—it’s a scientific baseline.

According to Dr. John Freemuth, Boise State University, the push for additional wilderness acreage in Idaho gets serious about every twenty years. Like it or not, that time has arrived and once again Idahoans must ask themselves, “should more of our public lands in Idaho be designated Wilderness? If so, where?” How many more acres? There are a number of organizations that would like us to believe that Boulder-White Clouds Mountains are definitely the number one area ripe for designation. It’s a “must have” for them. It’s inevitable……

Most of us in the past twenty years have not spent much time contemplating the pros and cons of Wilderness. Other, more pressing events have demanded our attention, so we need to remind ourselves of exactly what Wilderness is and is not before we plunge into this public discussion.

To paraphrase the Wilderness Act, wilderness is an area where the forces of nature prevail, a place where man is a visitor who does not remain and whose works are substantially unnoticeable.

Wilderness provides solitude– solitude is, of course, the state of being alone, by yourself, the ultimate non-social experience similar to that depicted by Tom Hanks in a recent movie about a man stranded on a deserted Island. The word solitude is followed by “ or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation.” The use of “or” tells us that you have solitude or recreation, but not both at the same time. The type of recreation is very limited in terms of both type and opportunity. Too much recreation destroys the wilderness and too much is really very little.

Many activities are prohibited, including the use of motorized or mechanical transportation. This includes some of our most popular recreation activities including bicycling, trail bike riding, and snowmobiling While recreation can take place in wilderness, the spectrum of opportunities is limited. Recreation and wilderness have a shaky relationship, recreation being a primary threat to the integrity of the wilderness resource if it grows beyond very low levels.

Many management activities are also off-limits or severely curtailed, leaving managers a small toolbox from which to draw. Trails must be maintained with primitive tools. Prescribed fire must depend on random ignitions from lightning strikes. Insect and disease attacks are part of the natural system. If soils are exposed to erosion, we must leave them exposed. After all, the canyons we so revere are features caused by massive natural erosion.

Nature in wilderness must freely roll the dice, or there can be no real wilderness as defined by the Wilderness Act. Wilderness is not a neat and clean place that fits our idealistic concepts. It can be a very dirty, unorganized and heartless place.

Wilderness promoters would like us to believe that wilderness is the ultimate protection for the land. Without it, they say, the future of the Boulder-White Clouds is in jeopardy and the generations to come will be denied the incredible experiences we enjoy in these spectacular mountains. We concur that protection is essential, but wilderness designation is not the best way to accomplish that objective. Land managers currently have a full range of options from which to choose and the Forest Resource Management Plan is the best vehicle with which to make that choice. The qualities we value so highly in the Boulder-White Clouds are there because of good management under existing laws and plans developed by the Forest Service, with input and review by the public.

Senator Frank Church wrote in the early 1970s, “The White Clouds offer a majestic mountain stage for outdoor recreation of singular quality.” He was absolutely right and Idahoans have used this area in a responsible manner, proving that wilderness designation is not necessary to ensure the land will be protected for future generations. The net results of wilderness designation could, in fact, result in loss of the things we cherish in these mountains. Devastation by insects, catastrophic fires, and other natural events are part of the wilderness condition. Endangered species and their habitats ebb and flow, depending on the roll of the dice. Mother Nature will be in control, and we should not lose sight of the fact that this mother’s touch is never compassionate and rarely gentle.

In the Boulder-White Clouds we have a classic example of how wild, beautiful, and undeveloped backcountry can be shared for a mix of recreation opportunities, motorized and non-motorized. Some folks prefer to hike, others to bike, but regardless of how you travel, you’ll never forget the experience. The imposition of an additional and unnecessary designation is foolhardy. Snowmobilers and other motorized recreationists have ridden these mountains for decades, yet the area still qualifies for wilderness. What better testimony could we offer as to the compatibility of these sports with these mountains? Management under current laws is working well, for the people, for the land and for the resources it supports. To change this winning formula to chalk up a few more wilderness acres for the green organizations would be risky and tragic.

There is no question about it; we need a final resolution to the roadless issue in Idaho. This ‘every 20-year wilderness debate’ is divisive and painful for all sides. But, as long as our political leaders embrace a piecemeal approach to the problem, there will be no end to the fight. Wilderness should be looked at on a statewide basis, taking into account the 4 million acres Idaho has already contributed to the National Wilderness System. We need to consider whether our nation needs more wildernesses, let alone whether or not there are compelling reasons to designate additional areas in Idaho. The truth is, we are not doing a very good job of managing the wilderness we already have. Every facet of wilderness management has been on a downhill slide since the early 1980s.

The next bill addressing wilderness in Idaho needs to be the last bill. This generational-one piece at a time–we’ll take the Boulder White-Clouds now and talk about the Clearwater later–approach to wilderness designation is nonsense. There must be hard-release language in any Idaho wilderness bill that states unequivocally, “undesignated federal lands can no longer be considered for wilderness designation by the managing agencies.” That does not mean that these lands will be developed. The highest and best use might be to continue their roadless status with an emphasis on wildlife, or a range of backcountry recreation opportunities or any of many other options.

A statewide wilderness bill that includes hard release language makes sense. Granted it would take time, effort and willingness from everyone, but it would once and for all resolve to this perpetual and divisive problem.