"Obama Officials 'Strongly' Oppose Roadless Release Bill"

"The Obama administration [Tuesday] roundly denounced a proposal by Republican lawmakers that would release several million acres of protected public lands into local management plans, potentially opening them to timber harvests, oil and gas development, motorized recreation and other uses.

Bob Abbey, director of the Bureau of Land Management, compared the legislation from Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) to shooting a small rabbit with a large gun, leaving almost no meat on the bone.

'H.R. 1581 is a top-down, one-size-fits-all approach, that fails to reflect local conditions and community-based interests,' Abbey told the House National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Subcommittee."

Phil Taylor reports for Greenwire July 26, 2011.