President Obama plans to reverse a decision made in 2003 by the Bush administration to make millions of acres of undeveloped land in the western part of the nation eligible for federal wilderness protection.
The old policy left the land open to commercial development, drilling, and mining.
As part of the reversal, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will review 220 million acres of land not currently protected to determine if it should be protected indefinitely. It is unknown how many acres will be deemed “Wild Lands,” but under the direction of Bob Abbey, the BLM has six months to submit a plan.
Those opposed to the reversal include republican members of Congress and ranchers and oil developers who fear newly dedicated Wild Lands will hurt rural economies reliant on oil and ranching.
White House memos leaked early in the year also stated the administration’s interest in designating 14 sites in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, California, Arizona, Nevada, Washington, and Oregon for presidential monuments.
The reversal will not affect the 8.7 million acres already considered wilderness areas. It will also keep the Wild Lands separate from those areas Congress has designated as Wilderness Study Areas.
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Schuylkill Center to Remain Woods & Fields
20 December 2010 2:20 PM | No CommentsThe 325 acres of woods and fields making up the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education will remain woods and fields well into the future. Officials at the center reached an agreement with the Natural Lands Trust to trade millions of dollars in future development gains...
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Green2015 Plan Report Released
07 December 2010 9:43 AM | 1 CommentAs part of its Green2015 plan, the Nutter administration will announce today plans to convert 500 acres of vacant lots into green spaces and parkland. The parks discussed in the plan will be smaller and more spread out than the destination parks the city is...
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Baked Apples Stuffed with Wild Rice and Quinoa
27 September 2010 9:34 AM | No CommentsUse your favorite variety of apple for this fall meal from Vegetarian Times. Because apples are currently in season, you can pick your own locally making the dish sustainable. Ingredients 1 cup mushroom broth 1/2 cup wild rice 1/4 cup red quinoa 2 Tbs. olive...
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Obama Announces National Ocean Council
20 July 2010 10:11 AM | No CommentsOn Monday, President Obama announced the creation of the National Ocean Council and a 10-point policy to manage and protect our nation’s oceans and coastlines. The council will be co-chaired by John Holdren and Nancy Sutley and will also include representatives from environmental and economic...
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Presidents and the Environment
20 June 2010 4:55 PM | No CommentsAs far back as Abraham Lincoln, we were encouraged to recognize the importance of sustaining the planet. In 1977 we were warned that our dependency on oil would lead to great adversity. In recent history, we’ve entered at least one war partially due to our...
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