Updated 4:36 PM ET November 2, 1999

By Randy Fabi

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bipartisan group of angry senators lambasted the Clinton administration and the U.S. Forest Service Tuesday, saying they failed to include Congress in federal land management decisions.

Their objections follow President Clinton's announcement last month to preserve at least 40 million acres of national forest by banning road-building.

"The President is not king ... and cannot write an executive order on what will be done with 40 million acres," said Republican Sen. Don Nickles of Oklahoma at a Senate Energy subcommittee hearing.

"This is very, very offensive to Congress and the legislative process," he said.

Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the ranking Democrat of the subcommittee joined his disgruntled Republican colleagues decrying the way the Clinton administration has presented national forest policies.

"I am unwilling to evaluate the Clinton administration's roadless areas proposal in a vacuum," Wyden said.

Lawmakers threatened future fiscal budgets of the Forest Service if the administration continues to leave Congress in the dark fearing Clinton's initiative could cripple the logging and paper industry.

"I think it will be hard to defend (the Forest Service's) fiscal budget if we don't get some concrete answers," said Sen. Gordon Smith, an Oregon Republican.

Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman defended the proposal saying it does not designate land for wilderness, but only begins a public process to decide the future of roadless areas.

The Forest Service is a department within the USDA.

"This is not a designation of land for wilderness. That requires statutory approval by Congress," Glickman said. "The President's announcement was only the beginning of the process."

Clinton directed the Forest Service to propose a rule to provide long-term protection for vast stretches of undeveloped forests in 35 states, from the Appalachian Mountains in the East to the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the West.

The proposed rule would ban road-building in protected forests, thus restricting logging or other activities that could damage ecosystems.

The Forest Service aims to issue the proposed rule next spring and after public comment, adopt a final rule late in 2000.