The term "wise use" comes from Gifford
Pinchot, the first head of the U.S. Forest Service, who used it to describe the
conservation movement. Pinchot chose words that implied balance, not to mention
a fundamental concern for the well-being of the environment. Today Pinchot's
term has been turned on its head, appropriated by a corporate-sponsored campaign
to roll back environmental protection in the West, where billions of dollars
ride on decisions about the use of government-regulated property.