The environmentalists originally screamed that they had been shut out of the discussions, and this accusation, like most leftist spew, was reprinted verbatim and without the slightest verification in many media outlets.

Later, this was modified to state that they had been shut out of meetings specifically with Spencer Abraham, but no mention was made of any other input they might have had.

Then later still, the environmentalists admitted they had input, but complained that it was "very late in the process."

It's like trying to worm out of a six-year-old the facts about who took the chocolate cake.