Green Options

On Thursday, Assistant Interior Secretary Lyle Laverty ordered the National Park Service to ease its existing mountain biking rules that some environmental groups claim could open up nearly 8 million acres of recommended or proposed wilderness lands in approximately 30 parks to mountain biking.

President Bush is concentrating more on conservation issues in his last days of office. A few weeks ago he urged for the creation of more protected areas in our oceans. Now he wants to help mountain bikers gain access to national parks.

Perhaps smarting over a judge’s recent decision to scratch the Bush administration’s plan to allow snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park, now Bush has said, “Damn it! If I can’t snowmobile in Yellowstone, at least I want to go mountain biking!”