Abstract
It may be blinking reality, however, to expect Congress to remake public land policy in a single legislative act. Indeed, it will not be easy to produce meaningful reforms that will pass political muster, but Congress has done it before, and more than once. While crisis situations, like the early 1970s clearcutting controversy, have precipitated periodic statutory reforms, the need for more comprehensive reform is becoming increasingly apparent. The agencies have already begun the process, at the prodding of the public and the courts, by experimenting with new ecological sustainability policies and collaborative conservation models. But old tensions persist. It is not easy to meld new ecological management principles into a legalistic planning system that is also freighted with market concepts and, property rights. Nor is it easy to acknowledge or capitalize on the potential of collaborative processes in a system that has a long tradition of centralized management. Even as the ecological sciences gain credibility and relevance, there is palpable reluctance to relinquish longstanding private rights and access privileges. The challenge is to surmount these tensions and to construct a system that will meet the new demands and values pressing for recognition on the public domain.
Recommended Citation
2005 ULR 1127 (2005)