Hey Sawbill I have to disagree a little with you but you have some great points. After careful cosideration I've come to the conclusion that we need to keep the chainsaws out of the Wilderness. As someone who wants to take care of the trails I want to open them up too but we have to draw the line somewhere and I don't want to go down the slippery slope. I rather cut the trails out by cross-cut, which actually is a great tool, than open the doors for more exceptions. What could be next, quads to carry tools? you get my point.
Yes our forest are getting more crowded but I hear the complaint that only the elite can use the Wilderness. I don't want to turn the rest of the public against the idea of Wilderness by making access more difficult. I still know of many places where there is plenty of elk and yeh you might have to work harder to get em.
People will still go into the woods and if they have to go around a bunch of trees then they will cause resource damage. I was hiking on an illegal trail today and people cutting their own trails are even worse.