Rep. Richard W. Pombo (R-Calif.) has broached the idea of selling to developers Theodore Roosevelt Island Park on the Potomac River, the memorial to America's greatest conservation president.

The House Resources Committee chairman, who will have a key role in drafting budget reconciliation legislation this fall, also has broached the idea of selling 15 other national parks [Metro, Sept. 27].

Mr. Pombo's part in the budget legislation is to find $2.4 billion in revenue. He wants to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil leasing, and barring that, he says, he'll be forced to propose the national park sales. What an absurd argument. The target figure, $2.4 billion, is one one-thousandth of the federal budget. Surely Congress can find $2.4 billion in lard to cut out of the budget. Surely Congress can learn the conservative arts of fiscal responsibility and protecting America's heritage.