1. MINING/FORESTS:
Enviros decry Bush admin revisions to mining regs

Many feel that mining and forest land don't mix well. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey.

The Bush administration has proposed 11th-hour revisions to federal rules that would make it easier to mine gold, copper and other minerals on U.S. Forest Service land, a move critics fear will have devastating environmental impacts.

The proposal is a wide-ranging revision to federal rules governing mining activity on Forest Service land and addresses mine inspections, environmental violations and other routine issues. Within the extensive proposal lies a section involving small exploratory mining operations that has some environmentalists and conservation advocates extremely concerned.

The revisions come at a time when copper and gold are in increasing demand worldwide. Requests for mining permits on federal lands have skyrocketed in the western United States. Go to story #1