The non-factual letter by Undersecretary of Interior
Rebecca Watson was typical BushCO arrogance (HCN, 2/21/05: HCN has
it wrong on Bush). The HCN rebuttal was
excellent. Here are five concrete examples of the Bush assault on
public lands:
- 1. The unrelenting, diabolical intent to drill the Arctic Wildlife Refuge.
- 2. Gale Norton’s clear privatization agenda for public lands. The new RAT (Recreation Access Tax) legislation, replacing “fee-demo,” is an unconscionable scam.
- 3. The Roadless Area Conservation Rule. After 600 public meetings and 1.8 million comments overwhelmingly in support of protecting the remaining 58.5 million roadless acres on the national forests, BushCO has worked frantically since 2001 to eviscerate and overturn the rule.
- 4. Colorado’s White River National Forest Land Management Plan. This well-crafted plan for the nation’s most heavily used recreational forest was five-plus years in the making, had 14,000 public comments, and was scientifically sound. Then, a cretin of an Agriculture undersecretary summarily threw the plan in the ashcan — public input ignored and millions of taxpayer dollars wantonly wasted.
- 5. The Bush push to drill the 40,000-acre Valle Vidal in northern New Mexico. This high-elevation valley is home to the largest elk herd in the state, clean water and quality fisheries. All of this would be liquidated for a 30-hour supply of natural gas!
- Scott Phillips,
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Bush, Cheney, and the Three Stooges.
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