EPA Nominee No Friend of Environment

(08/11/2003) - WASHINGTON -- Defenders of Wildlife today expressed serious concerns about President George W. Bush’s pick for Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Utah Governor Mike Leavitt, an outspoken advocate of shifting environmental regulation to the states, was recently successful in stripping interim wilderness protection from more than six million acres of Utah land.

"President Bush’s appointment of Governor Leavitt is just another part of his ongoing assault on the environment," said Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife. "Once again, the President has shown that when it comes to desires of developers versus the needs of the environment, the environment loses."

"It’s maddening but hardly surprising that President Bush would tap an opponent of environmental protection to head the Environmental Protection Agency," continued Schlickeisen. "It’ll be interesting to see how Governor Levitt’s states-rights routine plays at EPA, when he realizes that protecting our environment is a national, if not global, issue."

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Defenders of Wildlife is a leading nonprofit conservation organization recognized as one of the nation's most progressive advocates for wildlife and its habitat. With more than 430,000 members and supporters, Defenders of Wildlife is an effective leader on environmental issues. For timely information on environmental issues, visit www.defenders.org and subscribe to DENLines, a free e-mail alert newsletter.

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Contact(s):

Brad DeVries, (202) 772-0237