I have just read about Jim Hansen's latest actions in the House Resources Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands. They are another example of his determination to eliminate as many pristine tracts of land in Utah as he possibly can. And he does it the Clinton way, by twisting names and words.

Hansen is certainly no stranger to gamesmanship in the public lands debate. His latest bill, which he refers to as "America's Wilderness Protection Act," is to wilderness what Dennis Rodman is to decency and respect. But as long as Hansen presents himself as all virtue and no vice, he rolls on as a professional politician. If he had protected Hill Air Force Base the way he "protects" the wilds, HAFB would now consist of a surplus store without a working front door and a concrete runway.An example of the deception in his "wilderness protection act" is a provision that eliminates wilderness study area protection after 10 years if Congress does nothing. So if Hansen can't force preservationists to capitulate, he has designed a law to mute them. If a pristine canyon won't surrender to him and his outdated view of the world, then he'll make the clock expire, remove an area's temporary protection and enjoy the payoffs associated with another conquest.

A continual degradation of wild lands continues with Hansen's support, and nothing short of wilderness designation will save important Utah wildlife, fish habitat, archaeological sites, plant species and vistas. Simply put, Hansen is as fit to serve on a public lands committee as Bill Clinton and Al Gore are to head a committee to promote ethical campaign practices.

S. Glen Brown

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Bountiful

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