ABSTRACT
The Inland Forest Resource Council's primary goal is essentially to maintain an adequate supply of timber to keep our mills running and our people employed. That's point number one: our dependence on timber from national forest lands. The second key point involves our perception of the evolution of the Wilderness System. By 1981, Idaho's designated wilderness acreage had increased to over 3.8 million acres, an increase of about 46 percent. Wilderness advocates are pushing for another 6 million acres. Given the basic philosophy of the Wilderness Act, it's important to recognize that the recreation capacity of designated wilderness is significantly lower than the capacity of adjoining unroaded, nonwilderness lands. Resolution of the wilderness management issue must recognize that management options on lands outside wilderness are affected by decisions made by wilderness managers. Part of the responsibility of a wilderness manager is to mitigate the possible adverse impact of wilderness management practices on adjoining lands.
