Bishop to release sweeping Utah bill

A bill to designate millions of acres of wilderness, create vast motorized recreation areas and expedite the development of oil, gas and minerals in eastern Utah will be formally introduced in the House tomorrow, according to its sponsor. Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) said his Public Lands Initiative legislation has undergone "so many" changes -- many at the insistence of conservation groups -- since it was introduced in draft form in January. Bishop urged conservationists at the negotiating table to back the bill. Otherwise it will revert to its earlier form, which was a "good bill," he said. Bishop said his bill will get a vote this fall. And he warned the Obama administration against designating a major chunk of lands in his bill as a national monument, a move he said would pull the rug out from his four-year-old, collaborative effort. "If they do a monument this bill is dead," Bishop said...more