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Bush Nominates Idaho Governor for Interior Post

Posted on: Friday, 17 March 2006, 15:00 CST

By Joe Bauman and Suzanne Struglinski Deseret Morning News

Utahns responded to President Bush's nomination of the next secretary of the interior with such widely differing viewpoints that it's hard to believe they're all talking about the same person, Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne.

The president nominated Kempthorne late Thursday, saying he "is the right man" to build on progress by the previous secretary, Gale Norton, who resigned March 10.

"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," Bush said in remarks posted on the White House Web site.

In Utah, environmentalists were displeased or neutral. But Republican political leaders, a cattlemen's association, a four- wheel-drive advocate and a rural county commissioner gave Kempthorne strong endorsements.

"Utah has more than our fair share of public lands, and having a good interior secretary is vital to our state," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. "Dirk understands the needs of local communities that are so heavily affected by these public lands."

Hatch called Kempthorne, 54, "a fair, intelligent manager" who, if confirmed by the Senate, will "fight to protect our lands and promote wise use of our resources."

"We're excited the president chose someone from the West," said Brent Tanner, executive vice president of the Utah Cattlemen's Association, based in Salt Lake City.

"Obviously, the majority of the lands that he will be overseeing as the new Department of Interior secretary are in the West." The group feels strongly that Kempthorne is "someone who is familiar with those lands."

Support also came from Kane County Commissioner Mark Habbeshaw, Kanab: "I've heard good things about Gov. Kempthorne, and so I'm pretty enthused about his proposed nomination.

Marc Heileson, the Sierra Club's southwest regional representative in Salt Lake City, charged that the Bush administration is again "showing it has little concern for the protection of our environment."

Kempthorne has repeatedly suggested opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, he said. He was a leader in the opposition to a plan to protect 60 million acres, "our last remaining wild forests," he said. Kempthorne advocated weakening the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act, Heileson added.

Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, called Kempthorne a "good choice."

Cannon added that the Idaho governor "understands the complexity of the issues he will face, and he has the ability to find the balance between preservation and development of our national resources and to move America in the right direction."

Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, said he is glad a Westerner will take over the post.

"There are still plenty of things that the department could be doing better for the West," he added. Those include payment of in- lieu taxes and land issues. "We will continue to fight to be treated fairly," he said.

"Kempthorne is a good man," said Rainer Huck, president of the Utah Shared Access Alliance, which represents recreationists, including off-road vehicle users.

He hopes Kempthorne will be more aggressive in "reversing some of the abusive Babbitt (former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt) policies, so that we can get some balance in our public land management restored."

Scott Groene, executive director of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, said the group hopes "that he'd be willing to break from the Bush administration's priorities on oil and gas drilling that have threatened the Westerners' way of life."

The Utah Rivers Council wasn't impressed with the president's choice.

"The bottom line is that the Utah Rivers Council is not sure that any of the candidates floated by this administration could really provide the kind of visionary leadership needed to change the way we think about water in the West," said Merritt Frey, the council's executive director.

"It is hard to really imagine that Gov. Kempthorne can provide that kind of vision and leadership," she added.

Frey said she thinks the nomination will continue the Bush administration's "focus on short-term exploitation of rivers, rather than long-term solutions to our problems."

Bush said Kempthorne has served as mayor of Boise and governor of Idaho and as a U.S. senator. In the Senate he chaired the subcommittee on Drinking Water, Fisheries and Wildlife, and was chairman of the Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee, he said.

"Dirk understands those who live closest to the land know how to manage it best," said Bush, quoted on the Internet site, "and he will work closely with state and local leaders to ensure wise stewardship of our resources."

E-mail: bau@desnews.com; suzanne@desnews.com

Source: Deseret News (Salt Lake City)

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