W continues the War on our Wilderness:
Unless a federal court overrules a deal between the Interior Department
and the State of Utah, the Bureau of Land Management will give up its
right -- and abandon its duty -- to protect millions of acres of Redrock
canyonlands and other historic Western lands. The agreement pertains to
public lands managed by the bureau that are so wild, so unspoiled that
they would qualify for consideration by Congress as permanently protected
wilderness areas. Until now, the agency has served as the caretaker of
these remaining remnants of wild American landscape, first identifying
"wilderness quality" areas under its jurisdiction and then taking steps to
ensure that mining, drilling and other companies don't get their hands on
these lands before Congress can act.
But in April, Interior Secretary Gale Norton agreed to surrender --
permanently -- the agency's authority to identify these wilderness areas.
Not only that, by revoking a handbook that agency staff has used as a
guide to protecting wildlands, the agreement puts at least 6 million acres
of remarkable Utah landscapes at risk, including Fisher Towers, Cedar
Mesa and the Book Cliffs. NRDC and our partner groups are challenging
this agreement in court. If the agreement is allowed to stand, it will lead to
more drilling, more mining and more roads in wildlands not just in Utah but
across the American West.
» SAVE THE REDROCK WILDERNESS: Tell Secretary Norton to reverse the
"No More Wilderness" policy
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