Rant of the Week: Ken Salazar as Secretary of the Interior

So, western Colorado’s own Ken Salazar has been chosen by Barack Obama to be his Secretary of the Interior. The Department of the Interior has definitely been the most corrupt and dysfunctional department I’ve seen in my lifetime. The Bush administration is most definitely the most anti-environment administration in a long time, and I can’t wait to see this change. I thought Raul Grijalva would have been a good choice, but I also like Salazar.

Salazar might not be my favorite politician, and I don’t think anyone would argue that he’s not a moderate Democrat. I didn’t like a lot of the stuff Salazar supported, whether it was proudly introducing Gonzalez as the Attorney General, or voting for the torture bill and Bush’s wire taps. I could care less about these things though, as his positions on these issues definitely do not equate to his positions on public lands and environmental policies. All I care about is Salazar’s record on natural resource issues. That record is pretty good in my book. Ken listened to his constituents in western Colorado and fought hard to keep the top of the Roan Plateau free of oil and gas development. We went to Congress several times and tried to get move a legislative solution through to protect the Roan (even though he was unsuccessful). He even annoyed me a bit by spreading some of the lies and propaganda the enviro groups were selling about Roan Plateau (the untruth about how companies could have taped the gas resource from around the base of the plateau and how big game populations on a 36 square mile area would be “decimated” by 350 total acres of oil and gas-related disturbance). However, overall I see this as good news for the west. He’s also been a staunch opponent of the Bush administration’s rush to develop oil shale.

Apparently, some environmentalists and liberals are pretty miffed by this selection. Salazar is definitely pro-agriculture. Fortunately, I don’t think public lands grazing is an issue we have to worry all that much about. I’m not saying the BLM and Forest Service have a lot of work to still to do in that department, it’s just that I’d rather have him have ag interests close to his heart than other interest. Believe it or not, some ranchers are good stewards, and Salazar seems to have that ethos. More and more ranchers are also coming on board opposing irresponsible energy development. There are policies in place for good grazing management, and there are groups like Western Watersheds that sue the pants off of BLM every time they take a misstep. Salazar just needs to make sure ranching interests don’t get a special seat at the table and I’ll be fine with his cowboy hat.

I also hear he’s received a failing grade by animal rights groups. Again, I could give a rat’s ass. Just because he doesn’t support hundreds of thousands of non-native wild horses running unmanaged on public lands doesn’t equate to a weak commitment to the environment. In fact, I would argue the opposite. I also don’t have a problem with his pro-gun rights position. I’ve always been one to think western Democrats really strengthen their base by sensible support for the 2nd Amendment.

The New York Times editorial board printed an op-ed about Salazar’s appointment and received comments from folks in New Jersey and California that don’t surprise me. They’re disappointed that Salazar is not more progressive/radical, i.e. he is not in favor of ending grazing and energy development on public lands. Well, what a sellout! Come on people, look at the laws surrounding public land management that have been in place 80+ years. Uses are allowed on public land, and they’ll be waiting for many more years before someone closes off public lands to all but hikers and mountain bikers. They don’t want a Secretary of Interior, they want a complete overhaul of all our current environmental laws and policies. If this is the kind of change they're looking for, they wouldn’t be happy with anyone Obama appointed.

Critics angrily point out that someone who works for a mining association thinks Salazar is “fair,” as if this is a bad thing. Do you realize how much you sound like Gale Norton and Dick Cheney? Why is horrible for today’s DOI to completely discount the views of many Americans (environmental interests), but just fine if an extremist Sec of the Interior does the same thing in ignoring industry interests and interests of rural westerners who make a living from responsible uses of public lands? They advocate replacing one extreme ideology with another.

The biggest think Ken has going in his favor is his ability to bridge gaps, listen and weigh all viewpoints, and facilitate collaboration. I believe his experience in bringing people together to hammer out win-win solutions was one of the biggest reasons Obama chose Salazar. I know sitting down at the table with ranchers and/or oil and gas companies riles some folks, but after working on these issues for the past 5+ years, I’m a believer that in some situations collaboration is the way to go. Energy is the most important issue facing the US today, and he’s right where we should be on domestic energy development. He’s a strong advocate of renewable energy and will fight to keep important areas off limits to development and ensure energy development is done properly in areas where it is allowed. I also think science will play a prominent role in his department, and I hope his appointment will improve the morale of many DOI employees. Salazar brings a vide breadth of knowledge about natural resource Issues to the table, and I think Obama made a good choice appointing him as Secretary of the Interior.