President Barack Obama on Monday said he intends to nominate former Colorado U.S. Attorney Tom Strickland for assistant secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks in the Interior Department.
Strickland is chief of staff for Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. If officially nominated and confirmed as assistant secretary, Strickland would serve both posts concurrently.
Salazar said he fully backs Strickland and called his public service experience “second to none.”
“In addition to serving as the chief of staff for the 67,000 employees of the department, (Strickland) would bring to the assistant secretary position the type of vision for our parks, wildlife and open spaces that our country needs right now,” Salazar said.
As assistant secretary, Strickland would oversee and coordinate policy decisions for the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. His responsibilities would include balancing the interests of environmental organizations, businesses and other groups and agencies in regulating wildlife and public lands. Strickland could not be reached Monday.
Salazar and Strickland were founders and board members of Great Outdoors Colorado, the lottery-funded endowment for Colorado’s public parks system created in 1992. He also served as a managing partner for Hogan & Hartson’s Colorado law offices.
Prior to becoming Salazar’s chief of staff, Strickland was chief legal officer for UnitedHealth Group.
