Tasked with managing millions of acres of public lands, the federal Bureau of Land Management has announced plans to perform detailed ecological studies of some of its most notable properties.
This represents a sharp turnaround from the policies of the Bush Administration, which had taken a hands-off approach to the ecology of these lands, focusing on approving uses that some environmentalists have found controversial.
"Heidi McIntosh of the Southern Utah Wilderness Association says the Obama administration's concerns over climate change are driving the studies. McIntosh says the Bush administration took few of these considerations into account when it adopted long-term management plans for public lands in Utah and other states in late 2008."
Thanks to InfraNet Lab
FULL STORY: Feds to study notable public lands across West
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