The headline in the Salt Lake Tribune this morning was "Salazar reverses ‘wild lands’ policy."
While the decision last December to allow BLM to unilaterally treat federal lands as de facto wilderness land, has not drawn much attention in Arizona, it created a firestorm in other western states including Congressional critics who argued it locked up lands with oil and gas resources. Sec. of Interior Ken Salazar is quoted "We will focus our effort on building consensus around locally supported initiatives and working with members [of Congress] to advance their priorities for wilderness designations in their states and districts.” [right, BLM designated wilderness areas. These are established and not affected by yesterday's decision. Credit, BLM]