The latter, cheered by the nomination of conservatives Gale Norton and Spencer Abraham to head the Interior and Energy Departments, are pushing President-elect George W. Bush to dismantle Mr. Clinton's efforts to preserve federal lands from development. With a closely divided electorate and Congress, it's not at all clear which side will prevail. As Republicans prepare to control both the executive and legislative branches of federal government, national environmental groups are better armed than they have ever been. They've been able to raise large sums in order to conduct mass publicity campaigns. At the same time, they are concerned about some rumored subcabinet appointees who may have latent green tendencies.
Environmentalists are ecstatic.
A large majority of those comments from individuals supported keeping vast areas roadless. Environmentalists say this merely levels the political playing field, and that mining, oil, and timber interests spend that much and more on candidates for federal office. In any case, opponents of organized environmentalism have been left scrambling. Over the weekend, an estimated 1,000 loggers, ranchers, miners, and outdoor recreationalists gathered in southern Oregon to sound off in opposition to government regulation of federal land. Crash-course in lobbying At the Red Lion Inn in Medford, Ore., Chuck Cushman of the American Land Rights Association instructed a room packed with people in cowboy boots and hats in the art of lobbying their elected representatives.