-Caveat Lector- http://www.washtimes.com/news/news3.html#link >> Clinton woos environmentalists, plans to ban use of public land ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------- By Audrey Hudson THE WASHINGTON TIMES ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------- he Clinton administration is planning to ban most public use of 5 million acres of federal land in six states to placate environmental voters before the 2000 presidential election. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt is using his regulatory authority to halt mining, grazing, logging and oil and gas exploration on public lands. In many cases all recreational uses would be banned except walking and meditating. 'We have to be wary. They want to appease the extreme environmentalists who have this on their agenda and want this to happen,' said Sen. Frank H. Murkowski, Alaska Republican and chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. 'In the next -- Continued from Front Page -- 19 months we will see a significant movement to usurp congressional authority.' Mr. Babbitt also says he may ask President Clinton to use the Antiquities Act to declare some of the public land a national monument. Among other things, the act authorizes the president to set aside land for preservation. Mr. Clinton received kudos from the environmental community when he used that act during the 1996 presidential campaign. He created the 1.7 million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah to stop mining, and oil and gas exploration. In four of the Western states, the administration is hoping to declare or designate: 2.6 million acres in Utah a wilderness study area. 1.5 million acres in Alaska a wilderness area. 505,350 acres in Arizona a national monument. Several miles along the Upper Missouri River in Montana as a national park, conservation area or wildlife refuge. In a written statement, Mr. Babbitt's spokesman said Republicans should be helping them by drafting legislation to 'protect' these areas from 'big mining companies, the big oil companies and the big developers who want to chop up what's left of their unspoiled American public lands.' The administration has also proposed a two-year moratorium from mineral activity on 429,000 acres in Montana; 165,000 acres in Colorado and 5,000 acres in Missouri. Republican lawmakers say that by removing these lands from future exploration, the administration is hurting local communities by eliminating jobs and tax revenues. It also leaves the United States more dependent on foreign oil. 'There is no question they are trying to stick it to us, and it's really sad. These are pioneer families who made the West, and they feel robbed,' said Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, Utah Republican. 'Their goal is to turn public lands into a museum -- a diorama where all of the people are on the outside looking in,' said Laura Skaer, executive director of the Northwest Mining Association. 'I think they have quietly declared a new war on the West,' she said. 'I expect Clinton will find all sorts of national monuments to start popping up between now and November 2000.' Republican Missouri lawmakers have written to Mr. Babbitt saying the withdrawals were 'unnecessary and inappropriate.' 'It appears the administration has launched an orchestrated campaign to preclude mining on vast acreages of public lands governed by multiple-use laws and to do so without consulting Congress and without soliciting public input or independent scientific review,' Sens. John Ashcroft, Christopher S. Bond, and Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, stated in the letter. Mrs. Emerson fears many jobs would be lost in her district as a result of the administration's actions and says the land would be useless 'unless people just want to stand there and meditate.' Sen. Conrad Burns, Montana Republican, said he is concerned with the lack of discussion or local input from those who will be directly affected. 'There is no doubt they have chosen to make an assault on the West. We may as well be operating under a czar,' Mr. Burns said. Mr. Murkowski is also concerned that the proposed designations are a blueprint for Mr. Clinton to bolster his environmental record before leaving office. In a letter to his Senate colleagues, he pointed to a May 22 National Journal article in which Mr. Babbitt is quoted as saying: 'We've switched the rules of the game. We're not trying to do anything legislatively.' GOP lawmakers are hoping to close loopholes through proposed legislation. Sens. Robert F. Bennett of Utah and Larry E. Craig of Idaho are pushing bills to amend the Antiquities Act to include public comment. The National Monument Public Participation Act of 1999 would ensure the public and Congress have the right to participate in decisions to declare national monuments on federal land. It would require full public participation, environmental compliance and congressional ratification. Before making a recommendation to the president, the secretary of Interior would also have to determine the value of the mineral and surface natural resources. Mr. Craig initially proposed legislation in 1996 prohibiting the president from declaring national monuments in Idaho. His measure failed, but he was recently approached by other Senators to craft new legislation to provide protection to all states. 'Our general concern and frustration is what the administration did in Southern Utah they could do everywhere else in the country, and that they were unwilling to work with Congress -- especially as we head into a presidential cycle,' Mr. Craig said. 'This has become a political tool and not a means to protect unique environmental assets,' he said.<< DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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