Mining industry drafting Steens blueprint

[HuckleB]

Mining leaders drafting Steens blueprint

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/front_page/1070457011175230.xml

A Reno company whose officers serve in extraction groups says it will be unbiased, but BLM veterans voice concerns

12/03/03
MICHAEL MILSTEIN

The U.S. government has hired leaders of mining groups that promote industry access to public lands to prepare a management blueprint for Steens Mountain, among the largest protected public landscapes in Oregon.

They said, however, that their mining involvements will not influence potential uses for Steens land.

The situation arose amid a Bush administration drive to hire out to private companies work historically handled by public agencies. The new plan for managing Steens Mountain is the first such project in Oregon -- and one of the first in the nation -- turned over to an outside business.

U.S. Bureau of Land Management officials said they did not know until informed by The Oregonian that the company they enlisted has ties to the mining industry.

A former BLM state director said the oversight reveals that the Bush drive for contracting can let companies with potential prejudices assume central roles in public lands management.

....

Full story:

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/front_page/1070457011175230.xml

[HuckleB]

1. Yeah, it's a long piece.

But if you want to see just how the Bushies work themselves and their funders into every nook and cranny that they can, it's all right here.

[HuckleB]

2. Are there any Oregonians who care about this issue, at least?

This is Bushie ugliness at work, in the netherlands. It must be brought to light.

[dusty64]

3. Another corporate giveaway

at the People's and Planet's expense. Anyone recall the media screaming "Quid pro quo" at the Clinton pardon's? Where is it now?