Rep. McCarthy(r) introduces bill to roll back Clinton-era rule protecting 60 mil acres of wilderness

[Kadie]

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, introduced a bill this afternoon that would roll back the Clinton-era rule protecting 60 million acres of roadless Forest Service land and release all wilderness study areas to multiple use. It would also bar future administrations from protecting new wilderness.

The Wilderness and Roadless Area Release Act has environmentalists in an uproar, with Paul Spitler of the Wilderness Society calling it the "greatest attack on wilderness in the history of the Wilderness Society."

The bill obviously will not pass the Senate or be signed into law by President Obama, but it certainly complicates Sen. Dianne Feinstein's effort to expand the California Desert Protection Act. Because McCarthy is a member of the House GOP leadership, his bill signals open hostility from House Republicans to further wilderness designations.

snip...
Spitler said it would wipe out millions of acres from wilderness protection. "Your favorite places where you love to hunt, fish or hike? Gone. Protection for our drinking water and habitat for wildlife? Gone... If passed, this legislation would open wilderness-caliber lands to destructive threats, including oil and gas development, uncontrolled off-road vehicle use and other unchecked development. It would essentially prohibit the Forest Service and BLM from managing pristine lands to protect their wilderness values."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/nov05election/detail?entry_id=87182#ixzz1JeHww0jg

more info
http://wilderness.org/content/wilderness-society-condemns-bill-rolling-back-protection-millions-acres-wilderness

[demosincebirth]

1. Useless waste of time!

[OHdem10]

2. No doubt some deveoper is a contributor to his campaign.