One decision that has gone largely unexplained is the Justice Department's request on March 16 for a delay in an Idaho court case that challenges a Forest Service rule banning construction of new roads. The policy was developed by the Clinton administration largely to prohibit logging of 60 million acres of remote forests. But it also limits access to oil reserves within forest boundaries and on nearby private lands. Environmentalists say the request signaled the Bush administration's intent to settle the case and roll back the roadless policy. Bush explicitly linked regulation to higher costs and shorter supplies of energy earlier this month when he broke a campaign pledge to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants.
Most scientists regard carbon dioxide as a leading contributor to global warming.
Bush further inflamed critics this month with decisions to scrap new rules governing hardrock mining on public lands as well as a lower limit for arsenic in drinking water. Both regulations, adopted under Clinton, were opposed by mining interests, and environmentalists say their repeal exposed Bush's allegiance to natural resource industries that helped finance his 2000 campaign. Just how far Bush might go to open public lands for energy won't be known in detail until late April, when the task force being led by Vice President Dick Cheney is scheduled to release a policy blueprint and send a bill to Congress. Speaking last week to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham made clear that a major emphasis will be on clearing away regulatory obstacles to energy production. Although administration officials have declined to provide details, Bush's plan is expected to resemble a bill from Murkowski, the energy committee chairman, that loosens oversight and offers billions in industry subsidies.