But environmental groups say the proposal, sent to congressional leaders Monday, would encourage the government to sell off federal land and called it a throwback to the policies of James Watt, the vilified Interior Secretary under President Reagan.

"It's the wrong way to make decisions about these great assets and it is perverting the decision-making process," said Johanna Wald, an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council.

In a letter to House Speaker Dennis Hastert, Assistant Interior Secretary Lynn Scarlett spelled out a series of changes to a 2000 law that granted the department permission to sell unwanted land.

The revisions would give the department flexibility in how to spend the proceeds of the land sales and extend the life of the legislation.

In 2000, when President Clinton signed the law, the Bureau of Land Management had identified 3.3 million acres as wasteful of public money to maintain or no longer needed by the government, or potentially helpful for community development. There were 132,000 acres in Utah fit to be sold.

The original law required money from the sales to go to purchase of new environmentally sensitive areas.

The Interior Department's new legislative proposal would significantly expand the amount on the auction block, adding acreage deemed expendable in 50 ongoing land-use plans and any assessments finished before 2015. Initial estimates are that the proposal could affect as much as 10 million acres.

It also permits 20 cents of every $1 raised by the land to be spent on "conservation enhancement projects," such as wildlife habitat conservation and riparian restoration.

The department argued for the change before the bill passed in 2000. Scarlett said the changes have the strong backing of the department. "We urge its swift adoption," she wrote to Hastert.

But Wald said diverting revenues from land sales skews the department's priorities and creates potential for abuse.

"It would go to a fund which the bureau could use for its operating expenses and that provides an incentive, a strong incentive to sell off federal lands," she said.

Watt's proposal to sell off public land during his tenure was met with furor from environmentalists who feared it could result in the liquidation of national parks and recreation areas.

Reagan said at the time that the concern was unfounded.