OPINION/COMMENTARY

Give governors, residents more say

It takes an act of Congress to designate wilderness, and the courts stopped implementation of Clinton's order. Recently, President Bush proposed to give each governor a voice in how the roadless areas in their state could be used. The level of activity would be considered on a case-by-case basis. Bush was right to do this. Citizens living closest to the lands are the most greatly affected by them. They bear the biggest burden of any environmental harms and dangers such as wildfire, the sight of massive clearcuts, or sediment-filled creeks. And they reap the most immediate benefits, whether from clean water, developed campsites or harvest or recreation use. Those citizens should have greater weight in deciding how those lands are used than legislators acting collectively in Washington, D.C. Wilderness is and should remain a place of solitude and boundless beauty, a place that wildlife can call home and humans only visit. But to set aside 50 percent more land in one fell swoop would have serious consequences for many of us in the West, especially those of us who want access to clear-running creeks and crystal mountain lakes....