Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt (right) chats with students from the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.

Interior Secretary will push to expand U.S. parks

Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt indicated during a Dec. 8 visit to campus that he was going to push for major preservation and restoration projects in the remaining months of Bill Clinton's presidency. The Secretary made the remarks during an afternoon meeting with students from the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. That evening, he gave a public address on "Ethics and Environmental Restoration" as part of the Institution for Social and Policy Studies' seminar series on Bioethics and Public Policy, cosponsored by the Joseph Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale. Babbitt was appointed by Clinton in 1993, and, like all cabinet members, will step down when the administration changes in 2001. His office oversees the management of more than 440 million acres of federal lands, including about 360 national parks and 500 wildlife refuges. During the last six months, Babbitt has travelled across the country, motivated by the Antiquities Act of 1906 -- the law that gives presidents the power to create national parks. "For the past 100 years, presidents have issued proclamations creating national parks as they were shutting off the lights on their way out of the White House," Babbitt said. The Grand Canyon, for example, needs to be expanded by 50 percent, he contended. "If Congress does nothing, I'll go to the President and urge him to use his executive authority" to increase that and other parks and wilderness areas. "Every acre counts," he said. "I'm not talking just about protecting the status quo. The next chapter is restoration." Restoration, explained Babbitt, means returning land to its natural state, if necessary by allowing wildfires to run their course and tearing down man-made structures like dams that have destroyed ecosystems in ways unimagined by their planners. "Dam destruction is just getting started," he noted, describing the explosion of one dam that was carried out by a battalion of Marines, with an audience of local leaders in flak jackets and hel- mets who watched as a bright orange flash lit the sky and the river water came pouring through the breach. "This kind of thing captures people's imagination," he said. "Change is driven by public perception and attitude." Babbitt said he would encourage national debate on the issue of restoration. He acknowledged the "delicate balance" between "letting the locals make policy and relying on an elite corps of trained specialists." Both groups must contribute to the process, he said. Babbitt came down hard on bureaucrats who lack scientific background. "Society is saturated with lawyers and government-trained policy-makers," he said, urging the Yale students to get practical experience in resource management before tackling policy decisions. He acknowledged, a bit ruefully, that he became a lawyer after dropping out of a graduate program in geology and geophysics. Science isn't the only factor to consider in setting policy, he said. "Ethical issues underlie policy decisions. The longer I'm in the job, the more clearly I see the importance of values -- values which are driven by religious and philosophical convictions." Looking back on his seven years at the head of the Interior Department, Babbitt expressed satisfaction with the appropriation of $1 billion to acquire "vast tracts of land in Florida, from Orlando to Key West," to return the Everglades to their natural state. In California, the ecosystem across an entire watershed is being restored, he noted, speaking with pride of the reinvigorated Endangered Species Act. Through innovative use of habitat conservation and recovery strategies under Babbitt's leadership, the peregrine falcon, Aleutian Canada goose, bald eagle and gray wolf have been taken off the endangered species list. -- By Gila Reinstein T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S Yale boasts three Rhodes Scholars Bulldog coach, players cited for championship season Interior Secretary will push to expand U.S. parks Finding sheds new light on the alphabet's origins Squash courts refurbished with alumnus' gift Sons' gift establishes visiting professorship Mandelbrot is appointed Sterling Professor Former YSN dean is new master of Silliman College McCain vows to reform government, military as president Gary Hart warns of impending attack on U.S. mainland Exhibit features children's books by Connecticut authors Art Gallery exhibit explores mysterious prints Students' new creation protects children from loaded handguns Former tennis star wins prestigious Silver Anniversary Award Former Bulldog urges Bears to enjoy life off playing field Film expert's book tells of 'Scrooges' past and present Architects in training tackle Shanghai project in China Studio Nathan Jacobson, noted for work in abstract algebra, dies Sheffield Fellow to discuss 'Internet Learning' Community invited to help build labyrinth Study questions who is choosing oophorectomy option Grant from HHMI will support graduate education in sciences Talks will explore relationship between faith and science Sights of the Season Security Procedures for Recess . . . In the News . . . Bulletin Home|Visiting on Campus| Calendar of Events|Bulletin Board Classified Ads|Search Archives|Production Schedule|Bulletin Staff Public Affairs Home|News Releases| E-Mail Us|Yale Home Page