 |
|
First of 24 public meetings on Bush enviro proposals solicits mixed opinions
GREENWIRE, 08/11/06
The first of 24 national public meetings on the Bush administration's cooperative conservation national environmental plan opened this week in Spokane, Wash., and more than 180 people signed up to speak.
Two years ago, President Bush issued an executive order directing the U.S. EPA and the Interior, Agriculture, Commerce and Defense departments to "implement laws relating to the environment and natural resources in a manner that promotes cooperative conservation, with an emphasis on appropriate inclusion of local participation in federal decision making" (Greenwire, July 31).
Attendees included Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, EPA Administrator Steve Johnson, Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dale Hall and EPA Region 10 Director Ron Kreizenbeck.
Washington state Rep. Joel Kretz (R) said it was important for private property rights to be protected from bureaucrats and special interests. "Only the private property owner has anything tangible on the table," Kretz said.
Washington Farm Bureau Vice President Robin Meenach said that cooperation will only work if it is voluntary and if property owners are compensated for economic losses associated with the cessation of their land in the name of environmental protection. "Capitalism has served us well, not socialism," Meenach said.
Other speakers said that the Endangered Species Act needs to be changed and that other, long-standing environmental laws are inefficient.
The next meeting will take place Aug. 14 at the Public Health and Human Services Building in Helena, Mont.
| |
|
|
|
|
|
