Idaho County opposes wilderness plans

Bonner County commissioners are urging the U.S. Forest Service not to designate any more lands as wilderness in the Idaho Panhandle and Kootenai national forests. The board’s position is something of a departure from previous commissions, which have over the years mostly supported the establishment of proposed Scotchman Peaks wilderness in northern Idaho and western Montana. “All the commissioners recognize that Scotchman Peak is an area that needs to be protected. We just don’t agree that it has to have a wilderness designation,” said Commissioner Mike Nielsen. Nielsen said the designation will thwart all types of access to the forest and isolate adjacent areas where trails are groomed for snowmobile riders. “There’s a multitude of designations that the Forest Service can provide to protect an area,” he said, referring to primitive and backcountry designations...more

Somehow this has a familiar ring to it.