These areas of naked rock and barren slopes, with their commerical developments, parking lots, and adjacent or nearly adjacent dwelling facilities are illustrations of what can, and will, by the developers' own admission, happen to San Gorgonio. If, indeed, the present facilities are so over-crowded, if demand for further facilities is vastly increasing, if so many persons look enviously upon the majestic slopes of Mount San Gorgonio, and if, in fact, this is to be a development for a family winter recreational area, is it then too silly to suppose that the extent of the actual developments will at least equal those of other areas? Would it not, in fact, be entirely reasonable to assume that the actual development will outdo those already extant? One cannot be so naive as to assume that a few primitive huts, a pair of ski lifts, and an inconspicuous parking lot are going to suffice to handle the traffic and multitudinous crowds of thrill-seekers who will flock to the

virgin paradise that is, admittedly, the present area. Just as grimly realistic is the turn of events ensuing if the development succeeds in fastening itself upon the slopes of Mount San Gorgonio like a gigantic black beetle. An exaggerated and prolix simile? Regrettably, it is

not.

To provide the facilities really needed for a family recreation area, it is clear that extensive roads and trails would have to be provided. Fire danger would be increased, and hence an increased number of fire trails and other facilities would be necessitated. Several lodges and eating facilities would be forthcoming. Auto repair and maintenance developments are a necessary corollary of the traffic entering the area. Cutting of trees for ski lifts and parking lots will be necessary. The developers here start up and indicate that few trees would need to be cut and, furthermore, few would be cut. No one honestly believes the developers are going to cut any more trees than necessary. After all, that costs money, and money is clearly a prime motivation behind these developments, as will become clear later. Perhaps few trees would be cut on the slopes at first, but as the area became more heavily used, it would be necessary to clear further areas of ground. The parking lot issue seems a last desperate attempt to plead the sanity of the proposal. Trees are going to have to be thinned, ground leveled and cleared of rocks and brush. One must have room to back his car up and turn around without taking the side of the car off against the nearest tree. Furthermore, the numbers of persons coming into the area would motivate still greater developments and these same persons coming into the area would gradually filter into outlying areas. Thus, the cancerous growth we are asked to tolerate would spread its malignancy to the entire area, transforming it into a wilderness area of the most unpoetical kind-a wasteland of commercialization and pollution.

What then, to do? Is the wilderness area that important? Do we have a right to deprive so many people of the pleasures of winter resort recreation? Conclusively, the situation is not a choice between the rights of two groups to possess one area. The present area being used for ski developments constitutes 1,725 acres. Additionally, 1,625 acres are available exclusive of San Gorgonio. But, grin the ski developers, these areas are rocky deserts unfit for human consumption. The actual truth is that, where these areas are of minimal quality, aid is readily at hand. The Forest Service has agreed to aid in the development of

further facilities exclusive of the San Gorgonio area, and the perfection of artificial snow-manufacturing techniques is a further source of assistance. It is also necessary to point out the present values of San Gorgonio as a wilderness area, although only briefly, as most of them are obvious. Records indicate that San Gorgonio is the heaviest used wild area in the United States in terms of use per acre. The wild area contains perhaps the only significant "arctic-alpine" life zone in southern California. In an area as heavily populated as southern California, the preservation of a wild area is a necessity and vastly more so one as significantly unique as San Gorgonio.

Finally, then, we come to the ultimate question. What real good is a wilderness area anyway? Surely we cannot be so cynical and inhuman as to believe that our present civilization is all things to all men, that man is no more than the sum of our present technological achievements. That man is not a machine and has a spiritual side is inherent in our Constitution. Indeed, the Bill of Rights is a testament to the right of man to cultivate that part of his nature. Man must have an opportunity to escape from the society he has created, to escape from our prefabricated civilization to the contemplation of more basic underlying values. Man has the right to be alone with himself and his conscience. Whether it is any less beautiful to view nature from a ski lift or not should not concern us, for beauty is not at stake here. One can debate the nature of beauty; indeed, its very existence can be challenged. But one cannot debate whether it is any less private to view a mountain from a ski lift or not. It is no accident that Christ experienced his triumph over the temptations of Satan in the wilderness. Nor should we speculate why the solitude of outer space has awed man for centuries. The vast stillness of the New World is a part of our heritage, but the encroachments of the machine age are steadily destroying this heritage, steadily dehumanizing man's nature. What we must ask is whether or not man has a right to remain human. My proposal is a decision that will guarantee the opportunity of future generations to emulate the exercise of just this cherished right.

Thank you very much.

Mr. BARING. Thank you, sir.

The next speaker, please.

STATEMENT OF JOYCE OSBORNE

Miss OSBORNE. I was a counselor this summer at Barton Flats. As a counselor, I was in charge of several campers.

I taught them to cook over open fires. I taught them to pitch a tent and all the things that you must do to camp out overnight.

I think the Barton Flats area should remain the same as it is now. It is a true camping area, and is not like some camps which are like resorts that mar the beauty of the natural area.

For example, our campers have to cook their own food on open fires. They have to sleep on the ground instead of on cots in a cabin. They hike into areas such as Slushy Meadows and Dry Lake. They have to learn to take care of themselves without the help of anybody. They have to take care of the camp without modern facilities or conveniences.

Our campers enjoy these activities and we believe that the Barton Flats area is a true camping area and should remain one.

Thank you.

Mr. BARING. Thank you.

Our next speaker is Dr. Moomaw.

STATEMENT OF DR. WILLIAM R. MOOMAW

Dr. MOOMAW. Before presenting my views and arguments concerning the bills to provide for winter recreation in the San Gorgonio Wilderness Area, I first wish to make clear my interests in such a proposal so that my testimony may be more properly weighed and evaluated. I am not a member of any of the organizations which are testifying here today but am representing directly my wife, myself, and a few friends. Many of the arguments I will be presenting, however, are the result of discussions with a number of other people who feel much the same as we.

Both my wife and I are enthusiastic downhill skiers. We both attended college in snow country and have spent many enjoyable weekends on the slopes. We are well aware of the increased popularity of skiing and the press of numbers on existing ski facilities not only here in California, but in the Nation as a whole. The large increase in the number of skiers is only one facet, however, of a general expansion in outdoor recreation by the American public. In particular hiking, camping, hunting, and fishing have become extremely popular. Like many other young couples, my wife and I have found that a camping vacation offers a necessary contrast to city living. Furthermore, the low cost makes possible full vacations and weekend trips for young families that might not otherwise be possible. We personally have hiked and camped in many areas of the United States and Canada, much of our time being spent in the mountains. We have pitched our tent in auto campgrounds and have backpacked into wilderness. Always we have been aware of the problem that the rate of use of these areas is increasing faster than the available number of areas. It is because of our experience with both aspects of the proposed legislation, developed ski facilities as well as wilderness, that I am testifying today.

THE EFFECT OF DEVELOPMENT ON THE SAN GORGONIO WILDERNESS

First, let me make clear that the proposed legislation to open the San Gorgonio wilderness to develop ski facilities actually goes much deeper than that phrase would indicate. The real point which is being debated here today is not whether the wilderness should be opened to skiing but, rather, is San Gorgonio to be retained as a wilderness or is it to be developed for skiing? Unfortunately, these two aspects are by their nature mutually exclusive. Second, there are several basic factors which make this exclusiveness not entirely balanced. The existence of a downhill ski development with its lifts and other facilities precludes the existence of wilderness in a way that wilderness can never preclude skiing. Two types of skiing are presently possible in the San Gorgonio Wilderness; cross-country skiing on the trails and meadows and undeveloped downhill skiing on the slopes of Mount San Gorgonio itself. For those who feel it is not feasible to ski downhill

when there are no tows available for climbing back up, let me point to the success of just such a system in Tuckerman's Ravine in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Thousands of people during the months of May and June hike up to the ravine and then climb part way up the walls in order to ski down. The only facility which is at the lower end of the ravine is an Appalachian mountain club hut. Most of the skiers pitch tents in the snow. In the very existence of wilderness there exists the potential for development, but in development there never exists the potential for wilderness.

Wilderness is the absence of man and his manipulation of environment. It is only necessary to have stood in virgin forest to feel and know the difference between it and the second growth forests with which most of us are more familiar. The wilderness can be cut and bulldozed in a few weeks or months into a highway and parking lot or ski trails, but it requires many generations for a parking lot to return to wilderness. The growth and development of a mature forest is an exceedingly complex process which scientists are only now beginning to understand.

In addition to offering the kinds of skiing already mentioned, San Gorgonio performs a number of other important functions. In the words of the National Forest Service brochure, it was established "to provide present and future visitors an opportunity to observe, study, and enjoy a unique scenic portion of southern California's 'high mountain country' as it was at the time of the pioneers." Anyone who has been there knows that it fulfills this function magnificently. In keeping with this goal, the area also serves as one of the last outposts for wildlife such as the bighorn sheep and other animals which are rapidly disappearing from southern California.

Since the San Gorgonio wilderness consists essentially of summits and high slopes, it is possible to preserve this area in a more primitive and natural state than is possible for regions of lower elevation into which manmade contamination can flow. This latter factor also serves to insure that the water for which these mountains serve as source will be free from pollution. The development of skiing would add pollutants to this source from the extensive restroom facilities necessary to accommodate thousands of skiers.

The proposed location of the winter sports development presents a basic conflict with the very principles of wilderness preservation. The actual area will encompass only about 10 percent of the total San Gorgonio wilderness; yet its presence will affect an area several times that. To illustrate my point, let me remind you of the size and shape of the area we are considering. The area covers about 35,000 acres, and is roughly the shape of an elongated football. It is something less than 20 miles long and about 8 miles wide at its widest point. The distance across the middle by trail is only 11 to 12 miles from Poopout Hill via trail 1E05 to South Fork Meadows, 1E04 to Dollar Lake Saddle, and 1E07 to the road near Big Pines-which to a hiker means a 1-day hike. The central location proposed for the winter sports area would require access and development that would cut more than a third of the way across the width of San Gorgonio with a resulting decrease in the time necessary to cross it on foot. As persons familiar with the outdoors know, such increased ease of access by automobile into the heart of a wilderness rapidly destroys its wild character and

encourages development. This access and development further decreases the wilderness value of San Gorgonia by cutting the long dimension in half. In effect this reduces the wilderness to two smaller separated areas. The presence of ski facilities will also be felt over a wide area because of the nature of the topography of this region. Many of the major trails, including that to the summit of Mount San Gorgonio, either traverse the proposed ski area or are on the ridges above it. To climb to these ridges only to gaze down on ski lifts and snackbars, a highway with traffic, powerlines, and a huge parking lot would be a disappointment to say the least. The presence of the ski area on only 10 percent of the San Gorgonio wilderness would, in fact, adversely affect much more.

An additional factor of even greater importance is the problem of future growth and development of this ski area. Surely the developers and investors will not wish to see their investment lie idle during the offseason. Year-round recreation will become the cry, as it has in many places, with an increased demand for additional nonski facilities and possibly eventually even "rides to the top." Development breeds on itself, and if successful there is no reason why development should stop at 3,500 acres. I know of few areas where it has. If the demand for development were at one end of the wilderness area, it might be possible to accommodate it and annex additional acres somewhere else. Coming where it does, no amount of additional acres can replace either the features of the area proposed for development or the value of the present unbroken block of virgin wilderness.

THE NEED FOR RETAINING SAN GORGONIO WILDERNESS

Having discussed the impact of developed ski facilities on the San Gorgonio wilderness, let me now discuss the significance and importance of retaining this region in its present state. On the national level, the establishment of wilderness areas and wild rivers is part of the program of diversified use of natural areas by the public. For example, our national parks are living museums to which we can go to see and learn about the natural wonders of our Nation. The national forests help us to better utilize our natural resources. National seashores and national recreation areas provide places for boating, swimming, and skiing. We have now set aside portions of the wilderness so as to insure to our people at least a vestige of their inheritance of a wilderness continent. Like our national parks and seashore, these regions are set aside for all future generations.

Within the San Bernadino Mountains a remarkable diversity of outdoor recreational facilities is available. The lakes such as Arrowhead and Big Bear have been developed publicly and privately for water sports and vacations. Ski areas here and in the adjacent Angeles National Forest have been developed on private and national forest land in order to provide winter recreation. The wilderness mountains, meadows, and streams of San Gorgonio with their four seasons offer southern Californians a chance to enjoy and appreciate the natural world from which our technical civilization so effectively insulates us. The close proximity of the San Bernardino Mountains to a large population center gives many people access to these activities in a 1-day outing. To destroy this wilderness by present and inevitable future development would remove from the Los Angeles area