WILDERNESS: An ideal monument

Make the Boulder-White Clouds area a National Monument. Idaho enjoys the distinction of having the largest primitive land mass in the continental United States and these lands have been up for grabs by mining and logging companies since I was a child in the 1950s. My grandfather, who was an avid woodsman and also a heavy equipment operator, said that the “primitive areas should be preserved as they stand, for all and for all time.” He hunted and fished his whole life and had witnessed the fish and wildlife dwindle as progress moved in on the landscape at large and felt that such a relatively small area, of wilderness, should be preserved. His justification was that the natural world is something that people can benefit from if they have an opportunity to witness it in reality. Otherwise it is just a concept.

Recently I read an article written by a soldier coming home from battle, with wounds that don’t show on the outside and he related his healing experience over his PTSD while walking in the White-Cloud primitive area. He claimed it as a “place of healing.” I am calling to all who love Idaho’s great wilderness to voice their support for making the White Clouds wilderness a National Monument for all of our healing. Give thanks to our Vets.

GORDON and TINA SANDERS

Cataldo