Senator John Tester's Montana Wilderness bill, which would designate Mt. Jefferson as Wilderness, is back in play again. This time it's an attachment on the Interior Department-EPA appropriations bill. Congressman Mike Simpson is chairman of the House Interior Appropriations Committee and it is critical that we remind him of how important the south half of Mt. Jefferson is to Idaho.
Please take the time to let Congressman Simpson know that we need Mt. Jefferson left open. It is easy to do so as our friends at Nike say, "Just do it."
Here is how: Link on the site below and scroll down to the bottom of the page. Enter your zip code, hit submit and then fill in the blanks with the requested information. In the message section either choose one of the messages below or write your own. Thank the Congressman and you are done. How easy was that?
1. Please do not allow the south half of Mt. Jefferson to become Wilderness.
2. The south half of Mt. Jefferson is essential to the economic security of Island Park. We cannot afford to lose it as a snowmobile area.
3. Senator Tester's Wilderness bill may provide jobs in Montana but it will be at the expense of jobs in Fremont County. Don't let him designate the south half of Mt. Jefferson as Wilderness. We need all the jobs we can get in Idaho.
4. The south half of Mt. Jefferson may be in Montana but it is an Idaho resource, accessible only from Idaho. Don't let Senator Tester take it away from us by designating it Wilderness.
5. Following extensive public involvement, the Forest Service, in its latest resource management plan, has determined that the south half of Mt. Jefferson is best managed as an area with mixed uses, including snowmobiling. If Congress bypasses the people and makes this area Wilderness, placing this iconic snowmobile area off limits, it will have spit in the faces of the people who worked so hard to keep it open.
6. Let's have no backroom deals over Mt. Jefferson. It is too important to the snowmobile community and Idaho as a whole.
http://simpson.house.gov/Contact/