Tribal issues put Kempthorne in hot seat at Interior

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne (R) has yet to go before the Senate for his confirmation hearings but he faces some pretty hot debates as the nation's next Interior Secretary.

Off-reservation gaming, land-into-trust, federal recognition, tribal lobbying and the Cobell lawsuit are just a few of the high-profile controversies that will dominate his agenda once he is confirmed. That's in addition to the non-tribal matters he is likely to encounter as head of the Interior Department, a diverse agency in charge of everything from Indian education to bison management to oil drilling.

"As Secretary of the Interior, Dirk will continue my administration's efforts to conserve our land, water, and air resources, reduce the maintenance backlog of our national parks, support historic and cultural sites through our Preserve America Initiative, and develop the energy potential of federal lands and waters in environmentally sensitive ways," President Bush said last week at the White House.

The president left Indian issues off the list but his nomine won't be able to ignore them so easily. Praised as a consensus-builder, Kempthorne will have to put his skills to the test as he attempts to balance Indian interests with those of states, local communities and the energy industry. As history has shown, those interests are often in conflict.

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