The Bush administration announced that it is dropping the ban on road building and development on 58.5 million acres of federal backcountry, which was "considered the most sweeping conservation move of the Clinton administration," writes author Bettina Boxall. The rule is being replaced by a regulation that "gives governors considerable influence over the fate of federal backcountry, most of which is in the West and Alaska." Clinton's ban had given rise to numerous lawsuits and some governors and the timber industry "condemned the prohibition, saying it had carved a huge wilderness area out of public lands that should be open to a variety of uses." Environmentalists fear that in states with pro-industry governors, the regulation will leave currently roadless areas vulnerable to intensive logging. "States will have 18 months to petition the federal government to open the lands to roads and development or to keep them protected," writes Boxall, with the final decision made by the Secretary of Agriculture.