Wilderness, Parks, Energy Bills Hitch Ride on Defense Authorization

"In a major bipartisan breakthrough, House and Senate lawmakers last night successfully attached a slew of public lands and energy bills to the defense authorization bill that Congress hopes to pass in the coming week.

If passed, the dozens of bills would represent -- by far -- the largest public lands package advanced by Congress since the 2009 Omnibus Public Land Management Act.

The package, negotiated by leaders on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources and House Natural Resources committees and backed by leaders on the Armed Service panels in both chambers, represents a major compromise between conservation and development interests."

Phil Taylor, Manuel Quiñones, and Annie Snider report for E&E Daily December 3, 2014.