The Bush Administration Canceled Clinton's Policy

In 2005, the Bush administration finally managed to cancel Bill Clinton's bill, a piece of legislation that virtually banned all areas around national parks to commercial exploitation. This included a ban to building roads and phosphate mines, which would have adversely affected the environment. But this measure was canceled by Bush three years ago, and the decision-making processes were handed down to state authorities.  

Under Clinton, some 230,000 square kilometers of pristine forests were declared off-limits to industrial and commercial development. The size of these forests closely matches that of the entire United Kingdom. These areas were to remain intact, with no roads leading to and from them. Now, because of the relaxation in its legislative resolve, the federal government has once again opened the door to extensive exploitation of these resources.  

Recently, on October 16th, the government announced it had opened some 1600 square kilometers of "roadless" forest areas to development, including some regions in Idaho that are nearby or in close proximity to Yellowstone National Park. Environmentalists already protested against this measure, appalled by the idea of using such pristine habitats for mining and other such dangerous activities.  

Their main concern is that mining byproducts, such as phosphate spills, could pollute rivers and springs in the region, causing extensive damage to both vegetation and animals along the way. Deforestation could reduce living habitats for several species and could wipe others out completely. "The thought of turning these very high-quality environments into polluted phosphate-mining zones is really very troubling," emphasized Wilderness Society's Mike Anderson.  

The only hope that remains for these regions right now is for the new elected president to reverse Bush's measure and restore control of these regions back to the federal government, which will have to enforce new policies to protect the pristine environments that are endangered by economic and developmental exploitation.