With his natural resources background and level-headed approach to policy making, Sen. Ken Salazar is well-suited to be the next Interior secretary.
Salazar has been a moderate voice of reason on recent Western land and energy disputes, and we know he would be a wise steward of our public lands.
His expected appointment, confirmed by sources Monday afternoon but not formally announced, would be good for the West and for our country. But unfortunately, it would leave Colorado with two inexperienced senators, considering Mark Udall was just elected in November.
For Colorado, known as a donor state because we pay more in taxes than we get back, a strong senator such as Salazar can be extremely beneficial. Elected in 2004, Salazar worked hard in his short tenure to become a pivotal player in Washington and he will be missed in that role.
Just after the election, however, we noted in an editorial about Barack Obama’s upcoming Interior selection that Salazar, a former water and environmental attorney and director of the Colorado Division of Natural Resources, is exactly the type of person Obama should pick.
He has emerged as a sensible voice on oil shale development and eventually supported sensitive drilling on the Roan Plateau.
The Interior secretary must tend to a complex environment of vast open spaces, mountain ranges, rivers, forests, deserts and plains. In the past eight years, the Bush administration has shrugged off the complexities to pursue a single-minded and out-of-balance approach focused on oil and gas extraction.
Energy development is important to our economic well-being in the West, and helps feed the nation’s energy needs. We’re confident Salazar would preside over sensible reforms that allow for mineral extraction without irreversibly damaging those special places Westerners hold dear.
A centrist Democrat from a swing state, Salazar’s Senate stock would have soared in coming years. But we understand the allure of a president- elect seeking your guidance for a key Cabinet post must be strong.
If he is confirmed, it will be up to Gov. Bill Ritter to appoint Salazar’s successor. Ritter should resist his inclination to empanel a blue-ribbon task force to parse through applications, as he’s doing with the upcoming secretary of state opening. There shouldn’t be a shortage of qualified candidates. After all, as we learned in Illinois, it’s a valuable position.
It’s unfortunate to see the end of Salazar’s Senate tenure, but we expect his years at Interior would bode well for the West and the Obama administration.
