05/09/08

PHOENIX (AP) _ Environmental groups are heaping criticism on a
final federal management plan for a wide swath of rugged land
called the Arizona Strip.

Groups including the Wilderness Society and the Center for
Biological Diversity say the plan allows too much off-road vehicle
use, livestock grazing and oil and gas development on the 2.8
million acres of public lands.

Federal officials have defended the plan that was officially
adopted Friday as the most practical, saying it allows people to
use the land while protecting it. It has been debated for several
years.

The Arizona Strip stretches for miles north of the Grand Canyon
National Park and includes the Vermilion Cliffs and Grand
Canyon-Parashant national monuments.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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