The governor's petition, in response to the Bush administration's policy to turn protection of these last undeveloped national forest lands over to the states, devolves responsibility even further, essentially handing it over to county governments, which have shown much more interest in developing forests than in protecting them.

Huntsman's statement that "all previous inventories of roadless or unroaded lands in the national forests be obsolete, moot and of no further legal effect" is an unjustifiable sellout of Utah's often fragile forests, which provide solitude, vital wildlife habitat and watershed, as well as opportunities for hunting, fishing and other outdoor recreation, the lifeblood of Utah's vast tourism industry.

The governor says this petition provides "forest management flexibility." But his plan to set up advisory committees comprising county commissioners and state public-land officials to tell federal supervisors how to manage forests owned by the American public is a thinly veiled way to expand logging, oil and gas development, grazing and motorized recreation.

In doing this, Huntsman is reneging on promises he made during his election campaign and later to the Outdoor Retailers convention to protect Utah's unique outdoor treasures. He told the Outdoor Retailers he wanted to attract 5 million more visitors a year to Utah, adding another "$1.5 billion for the bottom line."

Notwithstanding his near-constant promotion of economic development for Utah, Huntsman seems to have forgotten that the growing outdoor recreation industry pumps $18 billion a year into Utah's economy and relies heavily on protection and wise management of public lands.

Huntsman's abdication of his responsibility to protect national forests and other sensitive Utah landscapes is the anithesis of more farsighted actions taken by the states of Colorado and California, which wisely opted to keep most or all of their inventoried roadless areas protected from development.

In a September ruling that is being appealed, a U.S. district judge threw out the Bush administration's forest policy. Huntsman's proposal deserves the same fate.