I write to you regarding the recent decision to commence salvage logging operations on Wendover Ridge in the Bitterroot National Forest.

In view of the documented historical and cultural value of this area I strongly urge you to reconsider this decision. Simply in terms of public relations this is an extremely disastrous undertaking for your corporation and for the region. Citizens from all across America will be taking trips along the trail, reading about the trail and following, via the internet, re-enactors as they trace their way to the Pacific. We have the opportunity to show the nation that this region, this area along the Lewis and Clark and Nez Perce trails are appreciated and cared for. We have the opportunity to share our love for this area and for the stories it recollects as long as we show visitors we are not unaware of its intrinsic value as a pristine place. To do anything less, I believe would be an insult to people who value history and landscape as a vital part of the human experience.