Bush may seek to overturn Clinton executive orders on environment

From CNN White House Correspondent Major Garrett

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- In perhaps the biggest land conservation act in decades, the President Clinton announced new protections for nearly 60 million acres of federally-controlled forest lands on Friday.

President Clinton's land conservation act may be scuttled by the next administration

The order encompasses federal lands in 38 states, and is one of the more controversial moves Clinton is making during his busy final days in office. President-elect George W. Bush has not said whether or not he will try to reverse Clinton's gift to environmentalists, but has promised a review of the executive order.

"His administration in its final days has been a busy beaver," Bush transition team spokesman Ari Fleisher told reporters Friday. "And we will review all regulations and executive orders upon coming into office on January 20."

However, it remains unclear whether Bush will be able to overturn the action. Bush aides are reviewing what steps the new administration and Congress can take to turn back the massive land set-aside, as well as recent designations of national monuments in Utah and Arizona.

"I think we may well see in the weeks following his inauguration, executive orders dealing with the initiatives that President Clinton took in the final days of his office," said Bonner Cohen of the Lexington Institute, a conservative policy group.

Bush supporters say that the incoming administration's agenda gives equal priority to energy exploration and environmental protection.

During the presidential campaign, Bush called for the opening of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration. The president-elect has also vowed to keep intact a number of hydroelectric dams in Washington State deemed hurtful to the region's endangered salmon population, but crucial to the local economy.

Bush's energy policy also calls for the accelerated use of so-called "clean coal" technologies to power electric plants and the construction of additional natural gas pipelines in the southwestern United States. Environmental groups are not happy.

Bush has vowed to maintain a number of hydroelectric dams in Washington State, to the dismay of some environmentalists

"President-elect Bush has given every indication that as soon as he gets into office he's going to begin a very massive anti-environmental agenda," said Brent Blackwelder, president of Friends of the Earth.

But his supporters say the public will applaud lower energy prices and more secure domestic sources.

"I think they will combine their efforts to deal with the energy shortage, which is actually a crisis in California, with more rational approaches to environmental issues," said Cohen.

For six years, Republicans have resisted Mr. Clinton's environmental agenda, forcing him to circumvent their power through a series executive orders. Mr. Bush has often stated a preference for congressional consensus, but may employ a similar strategy to employ his own agenda.