Reagan Says He Was Unaware of ‘Let-Burn’ Policy
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WASHINGTON — President Reagan said today that he had not been aware of a U.S. Park Service policy permitting some forest lands to burn and that the policy has been scrapped.
Asked what he thought of the so-called “let-burn” policy that has been carried out by the Interior Department in recent years, Reagan told reporters, “I have questioned it. I did not even know it existed, frankly.”
Answering questions as he headed back into the Oval Office after a bill-signing ceremony, Reagan said that when Interior Secretary Donald P. Hodel arrived in Wyoming last weekend, “he made it plain that . . . we were withdrawing from this policy.”
The policy has been harshly criticized by House and Senate members from the Western states.
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