In an April 11 letter to Congress, Interior Secretary Gale Norton announced her intent to withdraw a Clinton-era guidance document -- known as the Wilderness Handbook -- that allows federal officials to reconsider land initially passed over in wilderness protection inventories conducted in the 1970s and 1980s. "The Wilderness Inventory Handbook is a valuable tool that corrects past BLM [Bureau of Land Management] errors, and ensures that both the agency and the public know what irreplaceable jewels are at stake as we face unprecedented pressure to pave and drill our most cherished landscapes," according to Heidi McIntosh of Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

By revoking the handbook, the administration is limiting wilderness protection to 23 million acres and leaving millions of unspoiled acres vulnerable to development. DOI has also decided to disregard a 1996 reinventory conducted by the previous administration that found 3 million acres of land in Utah (some of which is pictured above) -- initially overlooked -- eligible for wilderness protection.

The policy changes announced by Norton come as part of a legal settlement with the state of Utah, which sued DOI to overturn the 1996 reinventory. This settlement is “consistent with this administration's history of settling environmental disputes behind closed doors, without the benefit of public oversight or involvement,” according to Earthjustice.