Outfitter asks for hot tubs in
wilderness
By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer
A Challis-based hunting and
fishing outfitter is asking the U.S. Forest Service to allow
installation of hot tubs in the Frank Church-River of No Return
Wilderness Area.
Mile High Outfitters asked to
place the hot tubs at Cabin Creek, Mile Hi and Cold Meadows, all inside
the wilderness area’s borders.
The Payette National Forest’s
Krassel Ranger District is conducting an environmental analysis on the
request, and has asked the public how it feels about hot tubs in
wilderness areas. Thus far, many people who have commented said they are
concerned about an apparent breach of wilderness ethics, said Lynn
Wilson, Krassel Ranger District timber sale administrator and a
temporary permit employee.
The Wilderness Act of 1964
describes wilderness as "an area where the earth and its community of
life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not
remain."
According to a letter from the
Krassel Ranger District, the tubs would be set up in the spring and
taken down in the fall. Water would be drawn from nearby streams, and
each tub would hold 1,250 gallons. Water would be heated in the tub with
a submersible wood stove equipped with a snorkel stovepipe.
Water would be cooled before being
drained, and the tubs would be refilled about every three days. No soap
or chemicals would be used.
Mile High Outfitters, which runs
hunting, fishing and wolf viewing pack trips in the wilderness, has
previously set up hot tubs for its customers, said co-owner Brenda
Bullock.
"Clients after riding a horse for
a long time have dinner and then jump into a hot tub," she told a McCall
reporter. "Not everybody goes for the hot tubs, but if you take couples,
they really enjoy sitting in them."
According to Wilson, this is the
first request the Krassel Ranger District has received to install hot
tubs. Though comments were sought by March 5, Wilson said more input
will be welcome.
The Wilderness Act restricts the
use of land, but at the same time generally allows for a multiplicity of
activities, including hiking, camping, horseback riding, hunting,
fishing, and limited grazing.
Activities that are generally
banned in wilderness include the use of all mechanized vehicles:
motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles, as well as all
bicycles and mountain bikes.
The act states "there shall be no
commercial enterprise and no permanent road… and, except as necessary…
no temporary road, no use of motor vehicles, motorized equipment or
motorboats, no landing of aircraft, no other form of mechanical
transport, and no structure or installation within any such area."
The rules include a provision to
allow certain barred activities to ensure the health and safety of
people, generally to accommodate the use of helicopters in emergencies.
The law also makes provisions for
"the control of fires, insects and diseases" within wilderness areas.
For information or to comment,
call the Krassel Ranger District at 634-0600 or write to: Krassel Ranger
District, P.O. Box 1026, 500 North Mission Street, McCall, ID 83638.