For a generation Republican Party leaders have been alienating a constituency they long took for granted. Characterized as "Range Rover Republicans", they are well educated, well-off folks who care about wilderness and wildlife habitat.

These people are deserting the Republican Party in droves. Since neither of the Bush presidents seem to understand the causes of this defection and disenchantment, their policy and personal decisions provoke the stampede.

For example, they fail to understand that before people care how much you know, they must know how much you care. Until now, there has been some posturing but little real evidence that either Bush administration cared about environmental issues or sensitivities of voters.

But perhaps there is a change. In late July, Lynn Scarlett, a life long environmentalist and former president of the libertarian Reason Foundation, took office as the U.S. Department of the Interior's Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management, and Budget. This suggests a shift in the administration's perspective.

In an administration noted for its pro-business posture and insensitivity to ecological matters, Lynn Scarlett stands out as a nationally respected policy analyst who loves birds, butterflies, beaver, and bear. Scarlett now holds a key position in the DOI, the agency responsible for managing the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Fish & Wildlife Service, all told nearly half a billion acres of federal lands.

I've known, admired, and liked Lynn for many years. She has been a regular speaker at our programs for environmental leaders, writers, federal judges, and professors of environmental law. During the half-day breaks, Lynn has joyfully lead interpretative hikes into the backcountry. She would be an excellent president of an innovative national environmental organization.

Lynn is a strong environmentalist--but she differs from traditional greens. She is a new environmentalist, who respects local and regional decision-making, rather than demanding regulations emanating from Washington. She favors community-based conservation.

New environmentalists value local knowledge and the communities that hold it. Many problems require site specific solutions and new environmentalists focus on working with communities to foster innovation.

Lynn has promoted environmental entrepreneurship and innovation. She knows that as people become wealthier and more educated, they desire ever-higher environmental quality. Positive incentives and cooperative management, not punishment based regulations, have motivated her work.

If they are to regain or retain the Range Rover crowd, the Bush administration must embrace the new environmentalism, which Lynn exemplifies. It encompasses principles that Bush claims to support, e.g. citizens creating innovative ways of dealing with their environmental problems.

Last May, Bush stood under a 2,100-year-old giant Sequoia and argued that American's should focus conservation efforts on locals, those most knowledgeable about their areas. He encouraged "innovation and high standards from the people closest to the land".

However, Bush's trip to Sequoia National Park was widely perceived as a contrived 'green' photo-shoot, not a sincere statement of environmental policy. In fact, a month after this photo op, the Bush administration axed a plan to reintroduce grizzly bears into the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness. This grassroots plan was created over a 5-year period and involved cooperation among environmentalists, loggers, and millworkers.

However, President Bush cancelled the project due to political opposition, e.g. from the Governor of Idaho, Dirk Kempthorne. Kempthorne claimed that the reintroduction of the grizzlies would be too dangerous. He noted it would release "anti-social", "massive, flesh-eating carnivores" into the state.

Through this and other decisions, Bush has convinced the public that he cares less about environmental solutions than pleasing the old SageBrush Rebellion and Wise Use constituency. There was no one in the administration to hold him to his "Sequoia Statement" emphasizing local involvement. With Lynn's confirmation, there is.

Perhaps Bush has finally seen the Green light. The appointment and confirmation of Lynn Scarlett could be the harbinger of fundamental change. Her success or failure will illustrate the environmental potential of the Administration. I'll cheer and support Lynn's efforts--but given the Republican Party's recent record, I'll keep my hopes and expectations in separate baskets.