Draft:George F. Baggley

Mr. Baggley. Mr. Chairman, members of your committee, I am George Baggley. I live in Boise. I spent most of the last 50 years in the field of resource management with the national forest and the national parks. For nearly 50 years I have been a member of the Society of American Foresters. That is the reason I am appearing here today. I believe it is fundamentally wrong in the proposal to deal with the future of wildlands as an isolated issue requiring a solution in the immediate future. Geographically, economically, and socially these are national issues and questions concerning them should be so addressed. The permanent allocation of national assets of this dimension should not be subject to such arbitrary distinctions as manmade lines defining States and land areas. The expectations, needs, and demands of the people of this Nation can in the future only be met through a national concept. I believe the basic question today concerning wildlands in this Nation from as well as Idaho, is: Have we already gone too far? Can the Nation in the future meet the demands of its people for wild and unspoiled lands. Are we doing socially what we have al ready done economically: piling up huge debts for our children who will need these wildlands and the amenities much more than we do. It seems to me we are actually borrowing from our children by not, with every means at our command, reserving and protecting for the future a large percentage of our existing wildlands. I believe the 82 million plus acres of commercial forests in the national forest system, plus the large acreage of private forest land managed for forest production, are adequate to keep the Nation's forest industry healthy and productive for a long time. Thank you for listening.

Mr. Baggley lives 93 years and loves smoking in the park. (Citation needed).

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