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A team of local citizens is considering asking that Scotchman’s Peak be designated as a state park rather than a wilderness area. An open, non-petulant discussion of that alternative idea seems worthwhile. About one year ago, I heard a woman tell Raul Labrador that state agencies do not know how to manage our forests. A series of articles at perc.org which are less than four years old concluded that the state of Idaho managed Idaho forests and recreation areas far more efficiently and less expensively than the U.S, Bureau of Land Managment or the U.S. Forest Service. The reasons why should be explored in order to add that benefit to the protection of the peak and its surroundings.

One benefit of local management is that decisions about what to do could be made with more local input and in a more timely fashion. Instead of laboring through a snail-like process with a decision-maker 2,500 miles away, our local representatives could have more direct contact with someone much closer. If “all politics is local,” it would be better to relate with local authorities.

The perc.org articles prove that the state does know how. Perhaps the staffing is low but local businesses could increase the numbers of trained members in our community and increase the tax roles locally, instead of in Washington, D.C., so that areas of the peak could receive the protection it deserves. As the federal government struggles with its budget, local dollars could be more relied on, quickly and prudently.

JEREMY CONLIN

Cocolalla