Opinion

Cheney's crony leaves grim Interior legacy

US President George W. Bush (R) and Vice President Dick Cheney walk to the Rose Garden on July 10, 2008 for Bush to sign H.R. 6304, the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, at the White House in Washington, DC. The bill would expand legal authority for electronic wiretaps by spy agencies and includes retroactive immunity for telecommunications firms which aided warrantless government surveillance operations following the September 11 attacks. AFP PHOTO/Mandel NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images) less US President George W. Bush (R) and Vice President Dick Cheney walk to the Rose Garden on July 10, 2008 for Bush to sign H.R. 6304, the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, at the White House in Washington, DC. The ... more Photo: Mandel Ngan, AFP/Getty Images Photo: Mandel Ngan, AFP/Getty Images Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Cheney's crony leaves grim Interior legacy 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

DEVELOPMENT: Paul Hoffman, high-ranking Interior official, resigns

WHAT IT MEANS: "I can attest to the fact that (the Department of Interior) gets in your blood, but I can also say that it does not necessarily turn it green." - Paul Hoffman, a deputy assistant secretary of the Interior, announcing his resignation this week.

Hoffman, who got his post thanks to Vice President Dick Cheney, regularly helped the veep undercut environmental regulations, according to a Washington Post investigation published last year. From keeping the Yellowstone cutthroat trout off the Endangered Species List to helping lift the Clinton-era ban on snowmobiling in Yellowstone National Park, Hoffman, former director of the Cody, Wyo., Chamber of Commerce, made sure that commerce in his and Cheney's home state wasn't unduly burdened. Hoffman also overrode the decision of the Grand Canyon's park superintendent to remove biblical plaques from the park, and forced its bookstores to stock a creationist text claiming the canyon was created in six days a few thousand years ago. More recently, he tried to rewrite national park management rules to give snowmobiles and off-road vehicles free rein and allow commercial activities, like mining and rock concerts. Perhaps Interior will bleed a bit more green now.

- Jodi Peterson

the road no longer less-traveled

DEVELOPMENT: Judge Brimmer swats Roadless Rule - again.

WHAT IT MEANS: Five years ago, federal Judge Clarence Brimmer struck down the 2001 Roadless Rule - which put 58.5 million acres of national forestland off-limits to road building - saying the Clinton administration had failed to adequately assess the environmental impacts of leaving all that land alone. Three years later, that hydra-esque Roadless Rule reared up again when U.S. District Judge Elizabeth LaPorte invalidated the Bush administration's new state-by-state rule making process, reinstating the Clinton-era protections. The weary Brimmer returned to his bench Aug. 12 to offer a second ruling against the Roadless Rule. This time, his opinion included some harsh words for the Clinton administration for being environmentally inconsiderate, along with a written smack-down of Judge LaPorte for being so darn uppity.

The dueling decisions - issued by two judges of equal standing - leave the rule once again in legal limbo. Lawyers have appealed both decisions to the U.S. circuit courts.

In the meantime, any attempts to develop roadless areas are sure to run up against lawsuits, says Earthjustice attorney Kristen Boyles. "It'd be a waste of tax money to try to get into roadless areas while their status is in question."

- Rob Inglis