February 21. 2004 11:11AM
Arizona Gov. Blasts Bush on Forest Policy
By PAUL DAVENPORT
Associated Press Writer
Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano on Saturday accused the Bush administration of mismanaging the federal forests, which she said could lead to "megafires" this summer.
"Once again, the Bush administration and the Republican Congress are shirking their responsibility to manage federal forests," she said. "So we must prepare to battle more megafires."
Napolitano, in the weekly Democrat radio address, said $760 million intended to pay for brush clearing and forest thinning on federal land won't be given to states before Oct. 1.
But the Western forests are in danger now, with historic drought, unprecedented bark beetle infestations and "the administration's refusal to restore forests on federal land," Napolitano said.
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http://www.dailycomet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040221/APA/402210659