The Future of the Department of Interior: Who Will Lead Next?
Ken Salazar's tenure as Secretary of the Interior has been marked by controversy and criticism, particularly regarding his policies on public lands and wildlife management. As his time in office comes to an end, speculation abounds about who will take over and what this means for the future of conservation and wild horse protection.
Yesterday, the Desert Independent reported that on Election Day, after being asked about the treatment of wild horses and allegations made in a recent ProPublica article about the illegal sale of wild horses to a slaughter facility in Mexico, Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar turned to the reporter and said, “If you set me up like this again, I’ll punch you out.” According to the article, there were other witnesses to the exchange, and when asked by Politico, an Interior spokesman responded by saying, “the secretary regrets the exchange.” With this, it looks likely that Ken Salazar is on his way out as Secretary of Interior.
Appointed in 2009, with little public outcry by many of the mainstream conservation groups and cheerleading by others, Ken Salazar rushed to develop vast areas of pristine public lands and oceans for natural gas, oil, wind, and solar energy, which has been a disaster for wildlife and the environment. Remember the Gulf Oil Spill, anyone?
It wasn’t long before his background as a Colorado rancher became a noticeable influence over his policy decisions.
His very first action as Secretary was to push through the flawed delisting of wolves in the Northern Rockies, which was overturned in the courts, then reinstated legislatively to protect the Senate seat of Montana Democrat Jon Tester. The move was widely panned by conservation groups and was clearly made to mollify the livestock industry.
Wild horse advocates became particularly critical of the BLM policy of rounding up and “zeroing out” wild horse populations in areas where livestock numbers have simultaneously been maintained.
With his ranching background, he vigorously defended public lands ranching despite the damage to natural resources it causes throughout the West, and virtually nothing has changed with regard to public lands livestock management from the Bush years. In fact, because the general public has a view that Democrats are better on environmental issues, they have quit paying attention, and things have gotten worse. In just about every way, he has fought the protection of lands and wildlife whenever there was a conflict with commercial interests.
Salazar also sought to fast-track large-scale industrial energy development of public lands. In some cases, such as in the Ivanpah solar project, intact and ecologically important desert habitat was developed. The BLM and US Fish and Wildlife Service seriously underestimated the number of endangered desert tortoises that would be displaced and ultimately killed, but after a short suspension of construction, the solar plant was allowed to move forward.
Another fast-tracked project, the Spring Valley Wind Project in eastern Nevada, was built just a few miles from one of the largest bat caves in Nevada, which houses up to 1 million Brazilian free-tailed bats during their fall migration. Bats are known to suffer high mortality from wind turbines caused by barotrauma, which causes their lungs to implode and blood vessels to rupture.
Key Federal Bureaus Under the Secretary of Interior
The position of Secretary of Interior is important because the Secretary oversees several federal bureaus that affect policy in many areas that affect lands, seas, and wildlife:
- Bureau of Indian Affairs
- Bureau of Land Management
- Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
- Bureau of Reclamation
- Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement
- National Park Service
- Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- U.S. Geological Survey
The beltway wisdom is that a westerner is the right pick for the position because most of the lands managed by the Department of Interior are in the West. Politico lists former North Dakota Sen. Byron Dorgan, former Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal, and soon-to-be former Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire as options.
Former Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal was very hostile toward wolves and the protections of other wildlife during his tenure as Governor. Chris Gregoire, during her tenure as Washington Governor, tried to push through livestock grazing projects on state-owned wildlife refuges despite clear evidence that resources were being damaged by livestock grazing and repeated losses in the courts. Another commonly rumored choice has been Governor Brian Schweitzer of Montana, who is responsible for killing more bison than any previous governor since the great bison slaughter of the 19th century and has a background in the livestock industry as well.
A Call for Change
It is time for a new perspective with regard to federal lands managed by the Department of Interior. Maybe it isn’t the right choice to choose a western politician who has a brown record on environmental issues. Someone more progressive who understands the underhanded approach of industry and the corrupt nature of the land management agencies might be better to take the helm and reform them.
Those of us in the West who have watched the day-to-day workings of the BLM, USFWS, and NPS are hoping for a time when these agencies actually use the best available science and understand the peril that our lands and wildlife face. It’s time to break away from the beltway/conventional wisdom and appoint someone with knowledge of science and who does not have a history of exploiting our lands, water, and wildlife for profit or political gain, someone who has a real history of conservation.
The time is ripe for conservation groups to rock the boat and get behind someone who has a strong record of conservation. There are a few who fit the bill, but Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva immediately comes to mind as someone who understands the issues and has a strong record. What are your thoughts?