This report was prepared in response to the ¿Report to Secretary Ken Salazar Regarding the Potential Leasing of 77 Parcels in Utah,¿ submitted by Deputy Secretary of the Interior David Hayes, June 11, 2009. The Hayes Report recommended that a Bureau of Land Mgmt. (BLM) team should determine whether: (1) the parcels should be re-offered to the original bidders under the same conditions as previously specified; (2) the parcels should be re-offered for oil and gas development, but under different terms than had been specified in the original offering; or (3) the parcels should be deferred from leasing. Finally, the Hayes Report recommended that the BLM initiate a comprehensive air quality analysis for the region. Charts and tables.

When a bill creating the Big Thicket National Preserve was signed into law, it climaxed more than half a century of environmental debate, planning and destruction. The preserve opened new vistas for recreation. In this revised and updated version, Gunter not only describes the history and rich diversity of the region saved from the bulldozers of real estate developers and lumber companies, but also the dimensions of the new Big Thicket Preserve. He makes it possible to plan a trip there by including descriptions of each stream corridor unit, maps and canoeing conditions, hiking trails, and camping facilities. He lists representative flora and fauna. The book provides a background—both historical and biological—which will make clear just what the visitor to the Big Thicket is seeing; why it has mattered, and why it will continue to matter.