When confronted with the eco-lobby, too many conservatives (and libertarians) fall back on the Teddy Roosevelt model of "conservation" as if he was doing anything different than we are today. Roosevelt and Congress nationalized land to please the railroad companies when he proposed Yellowstone, probably the first case of state-subsidized eco-tourism. What he really created was a State monopoly that prevented anyone from going into the park business in competition with government. He thus disinvested the entire outdoor recreation industry. People just don't see it, just like they don't recognize the UN in our midst.