1. Bicycles are not allowed on Cumberland, because much of the island is a federal wilderness area where mechanized gizmos of any sort are prohibited. 2. Congressional proposals to open millions of acres of federal wilderness land to logging and mining are at the center of the budget stalemate between Congress and the White House. 3. Federal wilderness designation offers perhaps the stingiest land-use restrictions. 4. Most of the mountainous areas along the front are protected as federal wilderness areas, but the plains, where much of the wildlife winters, are not protected. 5. People in Alaska, home to half of all federal wilderness, have long chafed at land policies they regard as rigid. 6. Roadless places are pristine enough to qualify for the federal wilderness system but are not permanently protected from logging or road construction. 7. The policy encouraged the expansion of oil and gas exploration, including in protected federal wilderness lands, greater reliance on nuclear energy and improvement of energy distribution systems. 8. He said federal agencies need more information on land that could qualify for federal wilderness designation and must do more to cooperate on its management. 9. That includes proposing new spots for federal wilderness designation and ensuring the lands are managed correctly. |
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