The Bush Onslaught Continues:

New wilderness policy enacted

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration, holding that many wilderness areas proposed after 1993 were invalid, has thrown out the handbook used by federal land managers to decide which areas deserve to be protected.

The new policy, announced Friday, represents a reversal of the practice, established by the Clinton administration, of encouraging the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to assess land for its wilderness qualities before allowing it to be developed for other uses.

The changes could significantly alter the BLM's treatment of millions of acres primarily in Washington and 11 other Western states, and could increase the likelihood that mining, drilling and road building will be allowed.

http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.co...p;date=20030413