SIC 9512
LAND, MINERAL, WILDLIFE, AND FOREST CONSERVATION



This industry includes government establishments primarily engaged in the regulation, supervision, and control of land use, including recreational areas; conservation and preservation of natural resources; control of wind and water erosion; pest control on public lands; and the administration and protection of publicly and privately owned forest lands. The planning, management, regulation, and conservation of game, fish, and wildlife populations, as well as refuges and other areas relating to their protection, are also classified here. Parks are classified in SIC 7999: Amusement and Recreation Services, Not Elsewhere Classified. Operators of forest property are classified in SIC 0811: Timber Tracts. Game preserves are classified SIC 0971: Hunting and Trapping, and Game Propagation. Fish preserves are classified in SIC 0921: Fish Hatcheries and Preserves.

NAICS Code(s)

924120 (Land, Mineral, Wildlife and Forest Conservation)

Industry Snapshot

An elaborate web of public and private establishments work together to manage and protect natural resources in the United States. Private membership groups, professional societies, industry representatives, and community groups voice a variety of concerns in their efforts to influence federal, state, and local policy on natural resource management. The principal governmental agency charged with the management of land, mineral, wildlife and forest conservation is the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI). As such, the DOI manages more than 500 million acres of federal land—approximately 20 percent of the nation's total land area—and is responsible for the collection and disbursement of all revenues generated from the use of public lands and the leasing of mineral deposits and offshore oil drilling sites.

An intensifying debate over the nation's economic and environmental interests shaped the increasingly complex and often incongruent governmental policies on environmental stewardship in the last half of the twentieth century and the early 2000s. One result of this debate has been a proliferation of bureaucracies designed to address the concerns of both industry leaders and environmentalists. By 2003 the U.S. government's federal budget allotted $10.3 billion to the expansion and protection of America's national parks, wildlife refuges, forests, and other public lands under the auspices of the Department of the Interior. Excluding $270.5 million in appropriations marked for civil service retirement benefits, that figure represented a $12.7 million decrease from 2002. Key efforts undertaken by the DOI in recent years have included restoration projects in the Florida Everglades, California Bay Delta, and Appalachian Mountains; forestry management, especially in the Pacific Northwest; ongoing revisions of the Endangered Species Act of 1973; infrastructure improvement at national parks; and national biological research.

Organization and Structure

As the primary guardian of the nation's natural resources, the Department of the Interior's jurisdiction is enormous. The secretary of the Department of the Interior is appointed by the president and supervises all activities of the department. In addition to an assistant secretary responsible for the chief financial officer and issues regarding policy, management, and budget, responsibilities are divided among four assistant secretaries who manage eight bureaus within the DOI.

Fish and Wildlife. The assistant secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks is responsible for the conservation and use of fish, wildlife, recreational and historical sites, and the national parks. Under the assistant secretary's supervision, these duties are carried out by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service.

Responsibilities of the Bureau of Fisheries, established as an independent agency in 1871, and the Bureau of Biological Survey, established in 1885 as part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), were combined and transferred to the DOI in 1939 by Reorganization Plan 3. The two bureaus were consolidated into the Fish and Wildlife Service in 1940, and in 1956 the service was divided into the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries and the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife. The Bureau of Commercial Fisheries was transferred to the U.S. Department of Commerce in 1970, while the DOI maintained the responsibilities of the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife. In 1974 the bureau was renamed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal bureau for the management of fish and wildlife and performs its responsibilities through an extensive infrastructure. It operates regional offices in the lower 48 states and Alaska and manages 540 National Wildlife Refuges on 95 million acres of land. In addition to maintaining 690 dams and some 3,000 miles of dikes, the bureau operates 69 National Fish Hatcheries and employs a nationwide network of wildlife enforcement agents.

According to the U.S. Government Manual, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service "assists in the development of an environmental stewardship ethic for our society based on ecological principles, scientific knowledge of wildlife, and a sense of moral responsibility…." The service performs a variety of environmental assessment projects on fish and wildlife populations and their habitat areas in its efforts to protect species and ensure that the public enjoys continued benefits from these resources. The service also compiles the Endangered and Threatened Species List and coordinates national and international efforts on species protection and propagation. In 2003 the Fish and Wildlife Service's budget totaled $1.9 billion.

Also under the direction of the assistant secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks is the National Park Service. Established in the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1916, the primary objective of the National Park Service is the preservation of natural scenic parks and historic and natural monuments for the enjoyment of future generations. The National Park Service maintains more than 388 parks, many of which contain campgrounds and visitor facilities. The service seeks to enhance the public enjoyment of wildlife and natural scenery through educational tours, films, and exhibits.

The Park Service is also responsible for the determination and preservation of historic sites and landmarks and maintenance of the National Register of Historic Places. The state portion of the Land and Water Conservation Fund is also under the Park Service's jurisdiction. The Park Service received $1.6 billion of the DOI's budget in 2003.

Indian Affairs. The assistant secretary for Indian Affairs heads the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which is intended to address the needs and concerns of Indian and Alaskan Native people. The bureau works directly with tribal governments in efforts to manage the use of resources on Indian lands and develop economic and social programs for their people. In 2003, this office's budget request was $2.3 billion.

Land and Minerals Management. The assistant secretary for Land and Minerals Management oversees the maintenance and planning of public land, and monitors the collection and disbursement of revenues from government leases of mineral sites and rent and royalty payments from lessees of Outer Continental Shelf drilling sites. The Bureau of Land Management, the Minerals Management Service, and the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement carry out these tasks under the direction of the assistant secretary.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) was established within the DOI in 1946. It performs the combined functions of two predecessor agencies—the General Land Office (created in 1812) and the U.S. Grazing Service (created in 1934). Most of the 262 million acres of federal land over which the BLM has total jurisdiction are located in the western states and Alaska, and are original public domain land that was acquired in the territory expansion purchases of the nineteenth century. The bureau is also responsible for the management of subsurface mineral resources found on an additional 300 million acres of public and private land, where the federal government maintains mineral rights. BLM policy is driven by the multiple use and sustained yield philosophies of resource management, which are designed to promote "utilitarian conservation" principles. These policies are implemented with the intent that the public will use resources to sustain production of crops or livestock indefinitely without environmental deterioration. The bureau also manages the issuance of energy and mineral leases and is responsible for monitoring compliance with the terms of these leases. The BLM's budget for 2003 totaled $918.6 million.

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) was created in 1982 to manage the development of both onshore and offshore mineral resources, and was also given all leasing responsibilities of Outer Continental Shelf drilling sites. In 1983 management responsibilities of all onshore minerals were transferred to the Bureau of Land Management, while all royalty and mineral revenue management duties were given to the MMS. Through its Offshore Minerals Management Program, the MMS performs resource evaluation of existing reserves, completes environmental impact assessments, and publishes estimates of undiscovered offshore oil and gas deposits. According to the U.S. Government Manual, the MMS "works in consultation with the Congress, the 23 coastal States, local government, environmental groups, and the public" to develop five-year leasing programs of sites on the Outer Continental Shelf. Through the Royalty Management Program, the MMS collects and disburses all revenues generated from the development and extraction of onshore, offshore, and Outer Continental Shelf mineral resources. This is the federal government's largest source of income other than the Treasury Department's tax revenues. According to Oil and Gas Journal, between 1953 and 1990 offshore oil royalties obtained by the MMS amounted to $18.5 billion. In addition, the service collected more than $21 billion in gas royalties. In 2003, the MMS administered a budget totaling $435 million.

The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), created in 1977, is also under the supervision of the assistant secretary for Land and Minerals Management. Through its 13 field offices and 8 area offices, the OSM coordinates efforts of state and federal government agencies to protect the public and the environment from the adverse effects of coal mining. As many states have assumed these primary responsibilities, much of OSM's activities involve the reclamation of mines abandoned prior to 1977. The OSM's 2003 budget totaled $279.4 million.

Office of Insular Affairs. The Office of Insular Affairs is responsible for recommending public policies pertaining to the U.S. territories of Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia.

Water and Science. The assistant secretary for Water and Science monitors the performance of the U.S. Geological Survey and the Bureau of Reclamation. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) was created in 1879 to classify public lands and examine the geological structure and mineral resources of the nation. Under the assistant secretary's direction, the USGS performs quality assessments of the nation's water supply, analyzes potential for such natural hazards as volcanoes, earthquakes, and landslides, studies energy and mineral resources, and is responsible for the National Mapping Program. The USGS has water resource offices in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Guam. In 1962 the USGS was given authorization to perform geological research beyond the boundaries of U.S. jurisdiction. The USGS administered a budget of $867.3 million in 2003.

The Bureau of Reclamation was initially established as the Reclamation Service within the U.S. Geological Survey in 1902. Its original objective was to ensure a year-round water supply and irrigation system for the 17 contiguous western states. In 1907 the service was established as an independent department and renamed the Bureau of Reclamation. The bureau's responsibilities have expanded to meet the growing demands of the West's increasing population. Its main functions include the generation of hydroelectric power, flood control, and planning for the design and construction of dam systems. The bureau also provides technical assistance to foreign countries that are working to improve their water management systems. According to the Bureau of Reclamation, it was responsible for the operation of 348 storage reservoirs; 8.6 million acres of land; and 58 hydroelectric power plants in the early 2000s. Its 2003 budget totaled $844.9 million.

Established in 1910, the Bureau of Mines was for more than 80 years a research-oriented agency concerned with the extraction, use, and recycling of non-fuel mineral deposits. The bureau also provided statistical data and economic information on resource availability. The federal government's downsizing efforts virtually eliminated this office in 1995, cutting about 1,200 employees from the DOI roster. Some of its operations and personnel were transferred to the Department of Energy's Fossil Energy Office, while other functions moved to the U.S. Geological Survey's newly created Office of Minerals Information.

Background and Development

Along with the nation's enormous territory acquisitions of the nineteenth century came the daunting task of establishing a system of resource and land management. Federal bureaus were created to manage such concerns as mineral extraction, timber production, water resources, Indian affairs, and railroad land grants. As America's settlers reached the Pacific Ocean, and California was petitioning for statehood, land distribution issues and the realization that the nation's resources were finite prompted a coalition of Whigs and public-land state Democrats to create the Department of the Interior as an umbrella agency charged with the supervision of the nation's natural resources. Upon its creation in 1849, the Department of the Interior was given jurisdiction over the General Land Office, the Office of Indian Affairs, the Pension Office, and the Patent Office. The DOI was then divided into three units, each headed by a unit chief, that focused on Lands and Railroads, Indians, and Patents and Miscellaneous programs. The Patents and Miscellaneous division quickly expanded, and the DOI was given responsibility for supervision of the commissioner of Public Buildings, the warden of the Penitentiary of the District of Columbia, the Census Bureau, and the Labor and Education Departments. By the end of the nineteenth century, the DOI had become a sprawling repository for miscellaneous governmental bureaus.

The Department of the Interior was in a state of extreme disarray in the early twentieth century. Over the next 50 years, the DOI underwent dramatic organizational and administrative changes that shaped its current role as steward of the nation's natural resources. Major administrative reforms were implemented by James R. Garfield in 1907, Hubert Work during the 1920s, and Julius Krug and Oscar Chapman during the Truman administration. According to Thomas G. Alexander in The Greenwood Encyclopedia of American Institutions: Government Agencies, Krug's reforms were instrumental in facilitating contact between various interest group representatives and the department. Alexander also notes that departmental restructuring since the Truman administration has built on the reforms initiated by Interior Secretary Krug and his successor, Oscar Chapman.

Although the Department of the Interior was an extremely amorphous agency in its early years, the management of public lands has been one of the DOI's principal functions throughout its existence. Increasingly in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the Department has faced two significant policy problems in resource management. The first predicament stemmed from its responsibilities for managing resources that were covered by conflicting legislation. The Department was unable to dispense land to settlers for livestock grazing and agriculture because such large land tracts had to be purchased from railroads and other grantees. Meanwhile, the Department's hesitancy to allocate more land to industry indirectly slowed the subletting of that same land to settlers. The passage of the Taylor Grazing Act of 1935 gave the DOI authority to establish and manage, rather than simply sell off, land leases and grazing districts to industry and private citizens. The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 increased the Department's responsibilities in managing the nation's natural resources.

The second policy dilemma concerned differing opinions on the necessity and methods of resource preservation. A conservation movement driven by two differing rationales began in the nineteenth century and has continued to shape DOI policy through the twentieth century. "Utilitarian conservation" was promoted by John Wesley Powell and William E. Smyth in the nineteenth century, and Gifford Pinchot and Theodore Roosevelt in the twentieth century. Preservation of resources for the aesthetic enrichment of the nation was espoused by conservationists such as George Perkins Marsh, John Muir, and Aldo Leopold. The General Revision Act of 1891 has been described as the most important first step in steering the Department toward the promotion of conservation. The Act repealed the Timber Culture and Preemption Acts and allowed the Interior Department to establish forest reserves.

Since the passage of the Wilderness Act in 1964 and the National Environmental Policy Act in 1970, the Department of the Interior's responsibilities in the area of resource conservation have continued to expand. The DOI, because of its status as an arbiter of what constitutes a fair balance between environmental and economic concerns, is often a subject of controversy. Conservationists harshly criticized the DOI during the 1980s, a period that they felt was marked by the sacrifice of environmental needs to satisfy various industrial desires. Conversely, many members of manufacturing and other industries decried what they perceived as the inordinate and growing influence of the agency, whose budget increased by more than 36 percent in the late 1980s, from $6.2 billion in 1986 to nearly $8.5 billion in 1990.

The expanding influence of government institutions involved in the conservation of America's natural resources has rippling effects on the profits and growth of many industries. The logging, oil, fishing, and real estate industries have become increasingly embroiled in conflicts over resource use. Government establishments such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Energy, involved in resource use, rather than conservation, have also been pressured to incorporate conservation strategies into their policies. According to the Energy Information Administration, increased conservation measures, coupled with the passage of the Energy Policy Act of 1992, are expected to slow the growth rate of energy demand to less than 1.5 percent per year till 2021.

Disputes between conservationists and the logging industry drew national attention in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Conservationists waged a campaign against the lumber industry in an effort to ensure the protection of the endangered spotted owl and old growth forests in the Pacific Northwest. The dispute between industry leaders, government representatives, and conservation groups erupted in an intense national controversy over the use of timberlands in 1988. Lumber industry representatives tried to sway public opinion and government policy in their favor by emphasizing that increased regulation will result in increased worker lay-offs. In fact, the National Forest Products Association (NFPA) reported that more than 100 sawmills in the Pacific Northwest closed in the early 1990s. In the short term, this has resulted in substantially higher profits for surviving logging companies, as lumber prices rose dramatically due to environmentalists' success in limiting logging on millions of acres of government timberlands. Permanently higher wood prices are the likely result of continued logging bans and pressures from environmental groups. The NFPA projects that an estimated 60 percent of logging on government lands will ultimately be suspended.

Likewise, the oil industry has been seriously affected by disputes over resource conservation. The leasing of oil drilling sites located in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and off the Florida and California coastlines has prompted intense debate. Conservationists tried to prohibit all oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but the federal government has approved limited leasing in the area. Threats of targeted product boycotts from private conservation groups in Florida and California have resulted in fewer lease bids from oil companies.

Extensive environmental damage to Prince William Sound and the Gulf of Alaska resulting from the March 1989 oil spill of the Exxon Valdez has added to the controversy over the expansion of oil drilling sites. Conservationists argue that potential costs in environmental damage outweigh the benefits of continued expansion of oil drilling sites. The $900 million Exxon Valdez settlement was the largest resource damage settlement in history. The monies were applied to several projects, including the restoration of Prince William Sound and its environs; the North American Wetlands Conservation Fund; and for land acquisition to augment Alaska's Kodiak Island wildlife habitat.

Under the direction of former Arizona Governor Bruce Babbitt during the Clinton administration, the Department of the Interior continued to tread a fine line between environmentalists and economic interests. Babbitt envisioned himself not only as the nation's chief conservator, but also as a modern-day King Solomon who would use science to find solutions to the nation's resource dilemmas. During the first four years of his tenure, Babbitt faced ongoing disputes over grazing fees in the West, oil and gas leases on public property, and—after the Republican Party gained control of Congress in 1994—threats to reform environmental regulations.

In late 1999 the Clinton Administration announced that some 40 million acres of protected national forests would gain additional protections by the prohibition of any roads going through them. It was also announced that the nonprofit Wildlands Conservancy had donated to the nation an additional 14,000 acres within Southern California's Joshua Tree National Park, where multimillion acres of land in the Mojave and Colorado Deserts are likewise protected. It was hoped that this would secure protection from further development in the area. Also purchased was the 95,000-acre Baca Ranch in New Mexico's Jemez Mountains, west of Santa Fe. Located on the ranch's acreage is the world-renowned Valles Caldera, a collapsed crater from an ancient volcano. The ranch is also home to one of the nation's largest herds of wild elk.

Unfortunately, there were casualties as well: some of the controversies surrounding Babbitt's tenure at the end of 1999 included: allowing major oil companies to pay below-market royalties for oil taken from federal lands; the environmental impact of oil drilling off the coast of California (a Babbitt legacy); and diminished funds for the Florida Everglades National Park and some earmarked Civil War Battlefields. Another 425 oil-rich tracts on 3.9 million acres of Alaskan wilderness were offered in a lease sale by the Bureau of Land Management on May 5, 1999. Six major oil companies purchased the bulk of them.

Following a study conducted by the Office of the Inspector General, which found that Indian schools were in worse shape than inner-city schools, the fiscal year (FY) 2000 budget request for the Bureau of Indian Affairs was increased by $155 million from 1999. Indian school children represented the seventh generation of Native Americans to occupy reserved land since the system began, and in 1999 there were 53,000 students in 185 Indian schools within the reservation system. Also included in the FY 2000 budget was a $100 million appropriation for a "Bring Back the Bison" campaign.

In October 1999 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published its Candidate Notice of Review, naming 258 plant and animal species considered likely to warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act. This was the first update since 1997.

September 25, 1999, was National Public Lands Day. Over 30,000 volunteers across America dedicated their time and energy for one day to make needed improvements in some 200 parks, wildlife refuges, forests, lakes and recreation areas around the country. Of inspiration was the dramatic growth of this popular program—from just 1,700 volunteers in 1996. The 1999 event was sponsored by Toyota, but is actually a partnership event shared by NEETF and several of DOI's departments. The program listed a toll-free number for volunteering, 800-VOL-TEER (1-800-865-8337) or a Web site address of www.npld.com.

Current Conditions

By the early 2000s, the nation faced a number of conservation-related challenges. In 2003, DOI Secretary Gail Norton unveiled Water 2025: Preventing Crises and Conflict in the West, a proposal that aimed to help communities facing water shortages in the western United States. Supported by proposed 2004 funding of $11 million, the DOI said that Norton's plan sought to provide assistance by "concentrating existing federal financial and technical resources in key western watersheds and in critical research and development, such as water conservation and desalinization, that will help to predict, prevent, and alleviate water supply conflicts." More specifically, Water 2025 involved strategies like the modernization of water supply structures, including canals, pipelines, reservoirs, dams, and pumping stations.

By mid-2003, friction between environmental groups and companies interested in logging on federal land raged on. The Bush Administration proposed to make substantial changes to rules established by the Clinton Administration regarding the use of more than 190 million acres of federal land in 44 states for commercial endeavors like logging. This was to be accomplished by giving forest managers a greater degree of freedom and control when approving the use of federal land for commercial endeavors such as logging. Environmental groups criticized the proposal for catering to the logging industry, while the American Forest & Paper association downplayed negative environmental implications. The association also praised the Bush plan for allowing forest managers to better control wildfire outbreaks.

Indeed, wildfire outbreaks were a major concern by the early 2000s. In 2002 more than 7 million acres of land in federal forests had burned as a result of forest fires. While this was an obvious problem, the best way to address it remained a point of debate. Through its Healthy Forest Initiative, the Bush Administration sought to support forest-thinning and streamline environmental reviews in certain areas, a position that drew fire from environmentalists.

Another effort to improve the safety of American woodlands was the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003. According to the U.S. House of Representatives, which passed the bill in May of 2003, this legislation sought to "improve the capacity of the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to plan and conduct hazardous fuels reduction projects on National Forest System lands and Bureau of Land Management lands aimed at protecting communities, watersheds, and certain other at-risk lands from catastrophic wildfire, to enhance efforts to protect watersheds and address threats to forest and rangeland health, including catastrophic wildfire, across the landscape, and for other purposes."

America and the World

America has developed an extensive network of conservation establishments since the mid-nineteenth century. However, it has done so only after incurring significant resource depletion and wildlife extinctions. Consequently, the United States' pleas that Third World countries begin to focus more on conservation have been largely ignored, as the people of undeveloped nations try to improve their economic conditions. At the same time, the United States has been harshly criticized by the international community for its refusal to sign a biodiversity treaty that every other attending nation signed at 1991's international Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. The treaty was intended to encourage developing nations via financial incentives to protect their natural resources.

Despite an increasing international acknowledgment of the necessity for conservation, global land, mineral, wildlife, and forest resources are continually imperiled by reckless exploitation. The cultivation of rain forest plants with medicinal properties is one strategy that could prove enormously lucrative for several nations. For example, two alkaloids produced by the rosy periwinkle of Madagascar have been proven to cure Hodgkin's disease and lymphocytic leukemia. By destroying unknown species of plants in the rain forest, South American people may be depriving themselves of future wealth. The creation of an ecotourism industry that promotes the enjoyment of interesting fauna and flora endemic to rain forests may provide other economic incentives for rain forest conservation.

Contributions from government organizations are essential for the initiation of conservation-oriented strategies. One of the most significant organizations involved in the promotion of conservation in undeveloped nations is the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The United Nations Development Program, the World Bank, and the United Nations Environmental Program established GEF in 1990. By 2003 the organization had committed more than $4 billion in grants to set up national parks, promote sustainable forestry, and establish conservation trust funds in more than 140 developing countries.

Prospects for the Future. Increasingly sophisticated technology has yielded more detailed information on the state of natural resources and environmental conditions around the world. Environmentalists charge that this information has overwhelmingly revealed that the world's resources and wildlife have been critically depleted. An increased sense of urgency has thus characterized the conservation debate. The number of conflicts between developers and conservationists is likely to increase as researchers classify more and more species as endangered. Continued advances made by scientists may help enlarge the framework of economic and environmental debate. A growing number of environmental economists and scientists are working together to explore prospects that would allow industries to thrive through conservation-oriented use of land, minerals, and wildlife. Innovative arbitration techniques will have to be implemented by governments to promote a compatible relationship between economic growth and resource conservation.

Further Reading

Daly, Matthew. "Environmentalists Cheer Rare Victory as Court Restores Forest Protections." Associated Press, 14 December 2002.

National Public Lands Day, 1999. Available from http://www/nps.gov .

News Releases of the BLM. October 1999. Available from http://www.blm.gov .

Pear, Robert. "Bush Plan Gives More Discretion to Forest Managers on Logging." New York Times, 28 November 2002.

U.S. Department of Agriculture. "The 2002 Season: Record Resources Available to Fight Wildfires; Record Amounts of Fuels Treatment Work Underway." 20 May 2003. Available from http://www.usda.gov .

U.S. Department of Interior. "Budget Overview for 2003." Departmental Overview, 2003. Available from http://www.doi.gov .

——. "DOI Quick Facts." 28 March 2003. Available from http://www.doiu.nbc.gov .

——. "Orientation Web site Data Tables." 28 March 2003. Available from http://www.doiu.nbc.gov .

——. "Water 2025: Preventing Crises and Conflict in the West." 2 May 2003. Available from http://www.doi.gov .

"U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Publishes List of Candidates for Endangered Species Act Protection." 25 October 1999. Available from http://news.fws.gov .

U.S. House of Representatives. "H.R. 1904 [Report No. 108-96, Parts I and II]." Union Calendar No. 52, 16 May 2003. Available from http://www.house.gov .

The White House. President George W. Bush. "President Bush Urges Congress to Act on Healthy Forests Initiative," 20 May 2003. Available from http://www.whitehouse.gov .



User Contributions:

Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic: