Washington – President Bush on Thursday picked Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne to be his interior secretary, staying the course set by outgoing Secretary Gale Norton with the selection of a conservative Westerner.
A polished former senator, the Republican Kempthorne is expected to easily win Senate confirmation. Environmentalists quickly voiced concerns but made no claim that he could be defeated.
Bush said he was looking for Western experience in his replacement for Norton, the former Colorado attorney general who announced her resignation last week after five years.
“Dirk understands that those who live closest to the land know how to manage it best, and he will work closely with state and local leaders to ensure wise stewardship of our resources,” Bush said in his Oval Office announcement.
Kempthorne said he has long worked to resolve conflicts through building consensus.
“I pledge to you and to the American people that I will continue in that role of reaching out and finding solutions,” Kempthorne said.
Kempthorne, 54, would oversee a $10 billion-a-year agency that controls about 450 million acres of land, about one-fifth of the country, most of it in the West. He has advocated more access to much of that land for logging, mining and recreation.
Interior also oversees several national parks and monuments in Colorado, from Rocky Mountain park to Mesa Verde.
Both Colorado senators said they were disappointed that Bush didn’t select former Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-Colo.
Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., said he nevertheless was pleased that Bush selected a Westerner. Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., who served with Kempthorne, called him “one of the most qualified candidates to fill this position.”
Environmental groups weren’t surprised by the selection of Kempthorne, who had been considered a front-runner since Norton’s announcement that she will leave at the end of the month. But they weren’t happy.
“President Bush nominated someone who has consistently opposed protecting public health and public lands,” said Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club.
But Colorado Gov. Bill Owens said Kempthorne’s work as governor shows his respect for the Western landscape.
“He has a Westerner’s love and appreciation of our natural resources and the years of experience needed to be secretary of interior,” said Owens.
In Congress, Kempthorne was perhaps best known for negotiating a bill to make the Endangered Species Act friendlier to landowners and developers while also attracting some Democratic support.
Congress is looking at the law again this year. The House has passed a bill by Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif., and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is looking at revisions of the act.
“The Endangered Species Act has been in Kempthorne’s cross hairs for a long time,” said Kieran Suckling of the Center for Biological Diversity. “I would expect him to even more aggressively undermine endangered- species protections than Gale Norton.”
Kempthorne had a near-zero lifetime voting record on the scorecard of the League of Conservation Voters and regularly got top rankings from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
In Idaho, he started using a sport utility vehicle that runs on ethanol made from potatoes.
He put forward a plan to kill dozens of wolves to help restore elk herds shortly after the state took over day-to-day oversight of the state’s wolf population.
Kempthorne also opposed President Clinton’s roadless initiative to block logging, mining and development on national forest land.
Norton has overseen a dramatic increase in the amount of oil and gas drilling on public lands in Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming, but Idaho has little oil and gas development. Environmentalists said Kempthorne’s nomination offered little expectation of a policy change.
If confirmed, he’ll take over a department under investigation for its dealings with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff over tribal gambling and ensnarled in massive litigation over royalties owed to Indian tribes.
Kempthorne served in the U.S. Senate from 1993 to 1999 and is finishing his final year as governor. In 2003, he was passed over for the top Environmental Protection Agency job.
Last summer, Kempthorne hosted Bush for a three-day vacation at a resort in Idaho’s central Rocky Mountains.
