Wilderness myths

Wilderness support is not as welcome as some may think. As I see many petitions across the state against it.

There is no fear of being locked out; it’s the hidden regulations that are irritating.

No snow machines can be used, if a noxious wood is found, no horse travel. A designated wilderness in Alaska has that happening right now, then the fine print comes out.

They say the horses are hurting the trail, so you need to wait until the conditions are improved, mud drying up, etc.; also no logging can be done.

I don’t know why we can’t be smart enough to learn from history.

A forest will get so thick that it will eventually burn.

Why not use some of our renewable resources? Bull River has a lot of commercial timber in the valley, including the south side of Scotman’s Peak. Right now the wildlife in the Bull River is 25 percent less than 20 years ago. The timber is smothering the undergrowth.

When my granddad, Clifford Weare and the Berray family came here, there wasn’t a lot of wildlife; it took the 1910 fire to renew the countryside.

Most people don’t realize how many deer were in our are in the ‘20s through the ‘70s.

Elk were planted in the ‘50s and have done well. The area at the 16 mile marker of Highway 56, which was where my granddad’s homestead was located, is a wintering ground for one reason only — that is was logged extensively, and created a food source.

This mentality of no drilling, mining and logging has helped create the situation we’re in today.

If a person is in the situation where they don’t need employment, or are wealthy, I can appreciate their point of view, however this great country of ours was not funded on that mentality.

We all use products that are mined or the result of logging. The air quality is just as good as when my granddad stood on top of Billiard Table and surrounding peaks 115 years ago.

Richard Weare

Noxon