When elected, President Bush was faced with not just a large energy crisis, but owing at least some of his victory to the stance he took against forcing the states to accept the construction of new nuclear power plants or hydroelectric dams when there was large local opposition.  Although favoring an expansion of domestic production of oil and other energy sources, the ability to paint himself 'greener' than President Muskie allowed him to win in California and Oregon, and almost in Washington, in the West Coast, and perhaps other states in the East.
    Two options were before President Bush, to appeal to the Sagebrush Rebellion in the Interior West, or to appeal to the growing environmental movement along the West Coast and elsewhere.  Although the
Interior West was more traditionally Republican, the support of the West Coast would greatly aid his re-election.  This was very apparent when one compared the electoral votes from the three West Coast states, 60 in 1980 and 64 in 1984, to the eight Interior West states, 35 in 1980 and 40 in 1984.
    It was the insight of Senator Hatch of Utah, who was a strong advocate of the Bush Administration in the Senate, that appealing to both regions was possible through devolving control of some of the public lands and similar policies designed to balance both sides.  The Sagebrush Rebellion in the Interior West demanded more control from the federal government, while in the Pacific Northwest the issue of the federal government having too much control over the use of rivers was also an issue.  In fact the environmentalists may view it as easier to achieve their goal of protection if they only had to focus on the state level or lower, instead of nationally, and support a policy of devolution.  Distributing the lands would be central to the new administration's policies in both the environment and energy.

From the Encyclopedia Americana, "Hatch, Orrin"

    (1934- ), Republican member of the United States Senate from Utah (1977- ).  Hatch was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  He earned a bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University in 1959 and a law degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1962.  He practiced law in Pittsburgh and Salt Lake City, Utah.  Hatch upset three-term Democratic incumbent Senator Frank Moss in the 1976 Utah senatorial contest.
    In 1981 he worked with President Bush on a proposal to devolve most of the public lands currently controlled by the federal government.  The plan, although controversial, eventually passed by a narrow margin. While not going as far as many demands by state governments in the West, it did radically change the policy of the national government towards public lands.  Following the one year period in which studies and hearings were held to determine if certain areas would remain with the federal government under either the Bureau of Land Management due to mineral resources, or under the expanded National Park Service which took in all public lands previously designated as wilderness, the remaining public lands were given to the state governments with only minor restrictions on their use.

From "Return of the Wild: The Future of Our Natural Lands"

    In the one year between the passage of the Public Lands Reorganization Act in 1981 and the transfer of public lands to the states, there was a one year period for the 1964 Wilderness Act to be used to transfer any public lands to the National Park Service, which had taken over the National Wilderness Preservation System.  True to his word to support any local initiative to establish wilderness areas, President Bush signed over twenty wilderness bills in that one year, more bills in one year than any president since the Wilderness Act was enacted.  By supporting a ban on future construction of nuclear power plants and hydroelectric dams without a local referendum, he further gained the support of the growing environmentalist movement.

From the Encyclopedia Americana, "Bush, George Herbert Walker"

Domestic Affairs-
Energy and the Environment-
    Having written off hydroelectric and nuclear energy as a way to solve the energy crisis, President Bush was faced with either an expansion of domestic fossil fuel production or support for renewable energy sources such as wind or solar power.  Working with Representative Udall in the House and Senator Hatch in the Senate, a bipartisan energy bill was passed in 1982 that expanded the tax credits for renewable energy sources while introducing newer tax credits for domestic production of fossil fuels.  This, in addition to deregulation at the federal level of the energy industry, began to boost domestic energy
production.
    Another important issue facing President Bush was acid rain and general air pollution, which was not just an issue in America but was a complaint that Canada constantly held against the United States.  Cap-and-trade programs were already being proposed for the phasing out of lead as an additive in gasoline, and proclaiming it as a free market alternative to previous policies President Bush supported an amendment tot he Clean Air Act that created a new full marketable permit system for SO2, the leading cause of acid rain.  Low-sulfur coal, most common in the Western states, was also proclaimed as a cleaner alternative to older coal from Eastern states, usually higher in sulfur.

From the Encyclopedia Americana, "Public Lands"

    In United States law, a term designating largely vacant and unappropriated lands administered by the Department of the Interior through one of two agencies.  The Bureau of Mineral Resources (formerly
named the Bureau of Land Management) administers public land with a focus towards mining and drilling for minerals and fossil fuels.  The National Park & Wilderness Service administers national parks and areas that have been set aside as wilderness, protecting them from future development.  Before 1982 the Department of the Interior also managed public land for forestry and grazing, but these areas were distributed to the states by the Public Lands Reorganization Act.

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