scenic beauties. Both goals can be achieved without sacrifice to either objective. We can have preservaion and utilization.

Now, to the recommendations and suggestions of the Kane County Council of Governments and the Chamber of Commerce.

The road from Glen Canyon City to Bullfrog Basin is needed now!

Why? To provide responsible access to these wondrous sites . . . to provide reasonable alternatives to the vacationing American public who are already crowded out of our established national park ... to provide adequate highways for our own people.

This road is needed now. We do not need any further studies. This road, if we allow it, will be studied into oblivion. There have been studies. The Utah Highway Department has etsablished a corridor proposal for this area. We are afraid that the patient will die while the doctors diagnose, study, poke and prod. Action is needed NOW.

We agree with the expressed sentiment that if legislation on Glen Canyon does not actually authorize construction of this road, we may not get another chance in this century.

If only a study is authorized, as in the bill that has already passed the Senate, the Purist Conservationists with all of their money will begin an all-out attack against this road by buttonholing legislators around the country who have never seen the beauty and wonders of our country and have no inkling or concept of our great needs.

Utah will not only lose a scenic road of unsurpassed beauty in the Lake Powell region but access across our county and the southern part of the state will be continually denied to all of us because of the attitude and interests of the few who can afford the time and who insist that our beautiful country should be locked up except for those who walk and hike but leave their wastes-both human and artificial-after themselves.

At the present time, citizens of Kane County-our own people have over a four hundred-mile round trip to come from their homes in Bullfrog Basin to Kanab, the county seat. It is only 42 miles more for a round-trip to Salt Lake City, the state capital, which is entirely on the other end of the state. We are common folk here; we cannot afford the luxuries of airplanes and the like. We have great needs. They have to be met. We are asking you to give consideration to our great needs.

Our people need this road. Our fellow Americans, the touring public need this road. Our children and their children will need this road.

This land is a living, growing, maturing thing. A man who has a beautiful daughter wants to keep her just that way-beautiful, lovely, young. But at what a price? . . . her happiness? . . . her maturity? . . . her growth and development? She is a living, growing, developing organism. She cannot be held back even with the best of intentions, without great harm. Our land is a living thing. We must allow for orderly, reasonable, practical growth and development.

Good conservation management practices are needed. Theory is one thing. Practicality is something else again. Recently there was a fire on Saddle Mountain that I heard about. This was due to the strict adherence to theory-the Purist Conservation practices. This fire could have and should have been avoided with proper use of the land. The theories of the Purists must be proven and modified in the field,

This land is our land held in trust for our fellow citizens across this country... held in trust for those who come after us. This land belongs to all of the people. We realize that we are merely stewards of the land. We know this and ask your support in helping us to make this a better area for everyone from all points of view.

For these reasons we concur with Congressman Sherman P. Lloyd when he says that we must create a Canyon County National Conservation Area to be administered under controlled multiple use by the United States Bureau of Land Management.

Further, we feel that you must authorize the Utah State Department of Highways to construct the two-lane scenic highway starting from Glen Canyon City and going to Bullfrog Basin. They have studied the area, the proposals, and the feasibility. They have cost estimates. They are ready to move according to the public hearing that we held with them. They should be allowed to proceed with all appropriate haste.

We call on you for actions to help our people here in Kane County and Southern Utah to achieve a better standard of living. We call on you for action for our fellow Americans to help them enjoy the marvelous wonders of our

great country. We call on you for action for our children and all who will be coming after us.

Let us not squander our resources. Let us not lock up our blessings unused. Let us enjoy what God has given us. Help us to enjoy even more the great land that we have been given.

Finally, we applaud your interest and concern in finding out what the average common people in the hinterlands feel about those things that pertain to them directly. We hope that you enjoy your short stay with us and will come again when you have more time to relax and enjoy all that is here for you. Thank you.

Mr. TAYLOR. Jean Widman, staff assistant, The Wilderness Society. On deck, George Hatch.

STATEMENT OF JEAN WIDMAN, STAFF ASSISTANT,
THE WILDERNESS SOCIETY

Miss WIDMAN. Chairman Taylor and Congressmen, I am Jean Widman from Denver, Colo., and I am here representing the Wilderness Society, a national conservation organization of some 70,000 members across the Nation. Approximately 2,600 of our members reside in Utah and the other States in the Four Corners area. They are familiar with these States, many of them.

Speaking for our 70,000 members at this particular hearing is a very exciting and significant experience for me because the Escalante Canyon country has had a profound effect on my life. It taught me about the delicate balance of living things and their dependence upon each other; it taught me to thrill at light playing on nature-painted walls; it taught me the importance of a little wren. However, by far the most cogent lesson of Escalante embodies the damage man is perpetrating on our country, in particular our Southwest. My sadness at Escalante Canyon being encroached upon by the waters of Lake Powell fired a desire to help preserve some of America's last wild places, particularly what was left of the Escalante River.

The Wilderness Society is a concept. The numbers of people associating with this concept believe that each of us has or can develop the moral courage to change our Nation's life styles so as to make peace with Mother Earth. Perhaps we are blind optimists, but we believe that honest endeavor is the only hope.

The Wilderness Society wishes to commend Congressman Lloyd for his efforts to delineate and establish the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and also a Canyon Country National Conservation Area of over 2 million acres. Indeed this large and scenically unique section of the United States should be afforded protection of its natural and recreational resources. Extreme cautionary management by the Bureau of Land Management would be a great step forward, and the Kaiparowits Plateau with its varied and largely unknown prehistoric archeological sites, and the Henry Mountains are deserving of such added protection.

However, the Wilderness Society, in conjunction with environmental groups here today, feels that a national conservation area cannot assure the ultimate and lasting protection for the magnificent, wild Escalante Canyon. While it would give the Bureau of Land Management direction and authority to manage this outstanding area, nevertheless, it would not be adequate for protection of the area that should be designated as wilderness and would not result in as

prompt action as Escalante requires. In short, I would like to summarize that the

Mr. TAYLOR. Do it in one sentence.

Miss WIDMAN. In one sentence.

Well, to make it short, we want a wilderness study for the Escalante River drainage coupled with that 2-year road study, the utilization of already existing roads which would prove much more economical for the towns in the vicinity along with the establishment of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.

Mr. TAYLOR. Thank you very much.

Miss WIDMAN. Thank you, gentleman.

Mr. TAYLOR. Mr. Skubitz of Kansas has a question.

Mr. SKUBITZ. Are you from this area?

Miss WIDMAN. I live in Denver, Colo., and have been in this area-
Mr. SKUBITZ. What is your profession?

Miss WIDMAN. I am a staff associate with the Wilderness Society.

Mr. SKUBITZ. Why does not the Wilderness Society move into this area rather than Denver?

Miss WIDMAN. This is our regional office. Our national office is in Washington, D.C.

Mr. TAYLOR. You would be closer to nature if you moved here.
Miss WIDMAN. I would like to very much.

(Miss Widman's statement follows:)

STATEMENT OF THE WILDERNESS SOCIETY PRESENTED BY JEAN WIDMAN

Mr. Chairman, I am Jean Widman of Denver, Colorado, and I am here representing the Wilderness Society (a national conservation organization of some 70,000 members across the Nation. Approximately 2,600 of our members reside in Utah and the other states in the Four Corners area). Speaking for our 70,000 members at this particular hearing is a very exciting and significant experience for me because the Escalante Canyon country has had a profound effect on my life. It taught me about the delicate balance of living things and their dependence upon each other; it taught me to thrill at light playing on naturepainted walls; it taught me the importance of a little wren. However, by far the most cogent lesson of Escalante embodies the damage man is perpetrating on our country, in particular our Southwest. My sadness at Escalante Canyon being encroached upon by the waters of Lake Powell fired a desire to help preserve some of America's last wild places, particularly what was left of the Escalante River.

The Wilderness Society is a concept. The numbers of people associating with this concept believe that each of us has or can develop the moral courage to change our nation's life styles so as to make peace with Mother Earth. Perhaps we are blind optimists, but we believe that honest endeavor is the only hope. The Wilderness Society wishes to commend Congressman Lloyd for his efforts to delineate and establish the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and also a Canyon Country National Conservation Area of over two million acres. Indeed this large and scenically unique section of the United States should be afforded protection of its natural and recreational resources. Extreme cautionary management by the Bureau of Land Management would be great a step forward, and the Kaiparowits Plateau. with its varied and largely unknown pre-historic archeological sites, and the Henry Mountains are deserving of such added protection.

However, The Wilderness Society, in conjunction with environmental groups here today, feels that a National Conservation Area cannot assure the ultimate and lasting protection for the magnificent, wild Escalante Canyon. While it would give the Bureau of Land Management direction and authority to manage this outstanding area, nevertheless, it would not be adequate, for that portion of the area that should be designated as wilderness, and it would not result in as prompt action as the Escalante requires. We believe that wilderness designa

tion for the Escalante Canyon area is long overdue. The well-known conservationist Aldo Leopold, as long ago as 1939, in a letter written to the President of The Wilderness Society, seconded a proposal which would have established the Escalante Wilderness Area. The letter, written by Hugh Calkins, Regional Conservator for the Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, also in 1939, stated in part, that the "proposed wilderness is nearly eight million acres in extent, and it is probably the largest area remaining in the United States substantially without roads of any kind." The complete letter is offered as an addendum to this statement to be included in the hearing record.

If a National Conservation Area proposal would delay designation of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Escalante wilderness study, this proposal should be considered at a later time as a separate measure.

Senator Moss has exhibited foresight in his Bill S. 27 which should not be disregarded. His recommendation for a wilderness study of the Escalante cannot be approved too soon and must be implemented without delay if the River drainage is to remain in its natural state. Private interests talk of water development in this Canyon. We hope that their representatives have personally crossed the Escalante hundreds of times in a meaningful hike there and are aware that the River is not a roaring Grand Canyon, but a gentle-flowing and, at times, only a trickle of a river. Other places with more pragmatic development potential are available, and we urge exploration of them. A prominent scenic river drainage which lends itself to an ideal recreation resource in an already fast-developing area should not be sacrificed to interests that would destroy this sector of America. An Escalante Wilderness, as proposed for study in S. 27, would assuredly protect this resource and would greatly enhance the 1,285,310-acre Glen Canyon Recreation Area, also advocated in S. 27. In fact, The Wilderness Society feels that the Escalante River drainage should be managed as wilderness until such time as a wilderness study is completed.

As Senator Moss points out, more than just the waters of Lake Powell need protection. His bill would protect the lake shores from being subjected to cluttered splotches of unattractive developments. We feel that the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area encompassing some 1.2 million acres is a necessity, but not one that overrides the importance of a wilderness study for the Escalante Canyon region.

A significant clause in H.R. 15073 concerns construction of a highway from Glen Canyon City to Bullfrog Basin. This corridor would probably cross the Escalante River approximately two miles south of Stevens Arch, causing an objectionable amount of defacement to the River area, as well as to the length of lake shore involved. The corridor would slice up a magnificent undeveloped area and forever preclude its proper establishment as wilderness. A better alternative would be use of ferries to connect existing roads, rather than promoting invasion of a wilderness entity as the highway corridor suggested in H.R. 15073 would do. We encourage use and improvement of existing roads as an alternative to new roads. Roads such as Cottonwood Canyon, the Circle Cliffs road and the Burr Trail, as well as the road south from Capitol Reef to Bullfrog should be utilized. These roads would not bypass towns in southern Utah which are acutely and increasingly dependent upon tourist business. No tourist is likely to drive from the Lake to Escalante. for example, to replenish his supplies or seek shelter. Commercial areas will spring up along the Lake only to the detriment of the small towns in the vicinity. We feel that the scenic Lake Powell should have adequate and reasonable access by the people, and that such access will provide adequate with some improvement of existing roads-all to the benefit of the towns in the area. If necessary, alternate feasible routes should be studied before any road development is undertaken, specifically considering proposals by the National Park Service which has the expertise to plan scenic roadways. We commend Senator Moss for his foresight in recommending a two-year road study simultaneously with an Escalante Wilderness study and urge inclusion of this stipulation in a bill before the House of Representatives. In summary, we join with the many concerned Utah citizen groups and other national conservation organizations in strongly advocating

(a) wilderness study for the Escalante River drainage, coupled with (b) a two-year study of road alinement problems,

(c) utilization of already-existing roads, and

(d) establishment of a Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.

We stress again that authorization of the road corridor through the lower Escalante area as proposed in H.R. 15073, is highly inadvisable at this time.

In closing, I would like to leave contemporary poet Ken Jacobson's expression of deep awareness: "We are searching for a true home in an uprooted landalways trying to hear the wilderness through all the confusions."

We greatly appreciate the opportunity to have been able to present our views here today. Thank you.

COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, Madison, Wis., December 13, 1939.

Mr. ROBERT STERLING YARD,
The Wilderness Society,
Washington, D.C.

DEAR BOB: I want to go on record as strongly seconding Hugh Calkins' proposal for the Escalante Wilderness Area.

As you probably know, Calkins is thoroughly experienced in western land problems and has a very thorough understanding of the Wilderness idea, hence I would regard his single letter as having more meat than many a long report. I do not see, of course, how you can carry on your own shoulders the job of organizing undertakings of this kind and I do mean to assume that such facilities exist.

Since the area lies largely in Utah, it would doubtless have to summon some special friends in that state. I am not well acquainted there and cannot offer any names.

With best regards,
Sincerely yours,

ALDO LEOPOLD, Professor of Wildlife Management.

Mr. ROBERT STERLING YARD,

President The Wilderness Society,
Washington, D.C.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,

SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE, Albuquerque, N. Mex., December 4, 1939.

DEAR MR. YARD: Enclosed are copies of a sketch map showing the approximate boundaries of the proposed wilderness area in Utah and Arizona. This area is one in which Bob Marshall was extremely interested. In view of his untimely death it seems particularly important now that steps be taken to translate this interest into some sort of action. The desirability of action is further emphasized by the fact that there is frequently recurring talk of a highway which would connect Mesa Verde and Zion National Parks through this area.

Roughly, the proposed wilderness is nearly eight million acres in extent, and it is probably the largest area remaining in the United States substantially without roads of any kind. Essentially it remains almost the trackless wilderness that it was when Escalante and, later, when Morman pioneers crossed the Colorado River Canyon. Several years ago, on Marshall's initiative, the Bureau of Indian Affairs designated a considerable area of land in the Navajo Reservation as a wilderness area, and as a result projection of new roads into the northwest part of the reservation has been restricted. The area thus designated is partly outside of the proposed wilderness. It did not seem desirable to include all of it because of certain roads that were built immediately before the designation by the Indian Service.

In general the area is characterized by semi-desert conditions, extremely rough topography, and by the absence of forests and mountain streams or lakes. If established, it is believed it would be the only recognized wilderness or primitive area of its kind.

The area ranges in elevation from about 2500 feet to 11,500 feet at the summit of Henry Mountains. In addition to this interesting range which is perhaps the highest one in the country surrounded by desert or semi-desert, the area includes such interesting features as Navajo Mountain, Rainbow Natural Bridge, many small national monuments and innumerable prehistoric ruins as well as some of the most interesting parts of the Colorado, Green River and San Juan River canyons. On the east and west respectively, the fringes of the area would be readily accessible from highways 450 and 89, but the area itself is at present traversed to the best of my knowledge by no passable roads except those which are shown on the map, and none of them go far into the interior.