Nation IN BRIEF : MAINE : Bush Defends New Wetlands Policy

President Bush said that his proposed new policy on wetlands did not break a campaign promise and insisted that it balanced environmental needs with economic concerns. Environmentalists criticized Bush for seeking to redefine wetlands, saying that the proposal would fail to protect areas rich in wildlife, something the President promised to do in his 1988 campaign. “Our policy is good,” Bush told reporters in Kennebunkport, Me., where he is vacationing. “A pothole in the back yard is not . . . wetlands. We’re not going to screech this country to a halt and throw everybody out of work in the process.”