WASHINGTON - "As much as 10 million acres of public land - including tens of thousands of acres in Utah - could be sold off by the Bush administration in an effort to unload parcels the government cannot maintain and to generate money for environmental projects.
But environmental groups say the proposal, sent to congressional leaders Monday, would encourage the government to sell off federal land and called it a throwback to the policies of James Watt, the vilified Interior Secretary under President Reagan. "It's the wrong way to make decisions about these great assets and it is perverting the decision-making process," said Johanna Wald, an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council.
In a letter to House Speaker Dennis Hastert, Assistant Interior Secretary Lynn Scarlett spelled out a series of changes to a 2000 law that granted the department permission to sell unwanted land. The revisions would give the department flexibility in how to spend the proceeds of the land sales and extend the life of the legislation.
EDIT
The Interior Department's new legislative proposal would significantly expand the amount on the auction block, adding acreage deemed expendable in 50 ongoing land-use plans and any assessments finished before 2015. Initial estimates are that the proposal could affect as much as 10 million acres. It also permits 20 cents of every $1 raised by the land to be spent on "conservation enhancement projects," such as wildlife habitat conservation and riparian restoration."
EDIT
http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_2386363