Salazar pick indicates big change for Interior Department

Salazar pick indicates big change for Interior Department

By Erika Bolstad | McClatchy Newspapers


WASHINGTON -- President-elect Barack Obama's selection of Democratic Sen. Ken Salazar of Colorado as his nominee for interior secretary suggested a 180-degree turn from the way the Interior Department operated under the Bush administration.

"It’s time for a new kind of leadership in Washington that's committed to using our lands in a responsible way to benefit all our families," Obama said during his announcement. "That means ensuring that even as we are promoting development where it makes sense, we are also fulfilling our obligation to protect our national treasures."

The Salazar selection is likely to have a big impact in states such as Alaska and Idaho, where federal agencies manage large amounts of land.

In Alaska, where 60 percent of the land is under federal management, they wonder what sort of leadership he'll provide on issues of importance to Alaskans that he oversees, including endangered species guidelines, additional oil and gas development and Native issues.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin hopes to meet with Salazar once the Senate confirms him, said John Katz, who heads Gov. Sarah Palin's Washington office. They know that Salazar opposes drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Katz said, but don't want to "make assumptions about other oil and gas issues until we have a dialogue." Palin is "anxious to have that dialogue" with the new Interior official, Katz said.

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http://www.mcclatchydc.com/226/story/58057.html

and I'm glad.....

me, although I was hoping for RFK, Jr.