Here's a list of names of potential nominees to lead the Department of Interior from the Associated Press. From their article:
Rep. Raul M. Grijalva, D-Ariz.
Former Gov. John Kitzhaber, D-Ore.
Former Gov. Tony Knowles, D-Alaska.
Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Calif.
From Wikipedia:
Mike Thompson -- "Thompson was the House sponsor of the Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act, which was signed in to law by President George W. Bush on October 17, 2006. The bill protected 275,830 acres (1,116.2 km2) of federal land as wilderness and 21 miles (34 km) of stream as a wild and scenic river, including such popular areas as the King Range and Cache Creek. Thompson worked with Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein of California in the 5-year effort to pass the bill."
Tony Knowles -- "Knowles was chair of the Western Governors' Association in 1997, two-term chair of the Interstate Oil & Gas Compact Commission, and a member of the Pew Oceans Commission (POC)...Knowles pushed Canadian officials to adopt his 'safe passage' principle to protect Pacific salmon and their freshwater habitat, leading to the successful negotiation of the first coast wide salmon treaty in decades...On November 7, 2006, Knowles lost the Governorship in the general election to Republican Sarah Palin. Although many had predicted a close race, including pollsters for both parties, Knowles lost by 7 points, polling lower than in his 2004 bid for the U.S. Senate. Due to his early support for Barack Obama, his status as a former Governor of a western state, and his long-term involvement in oil and energy concerns, Knowles has been discussed as a potential Secretary of the Interior or Secretary of Energy in an Obama cabinet."
John Kitzhaber -- "Kitzhaber developed several policy initiatives related to natural resources during his two terms as governor. The Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds attempted to restore dwindling runs of endangered native salmon species to Oregon's rivers and streams. The plan was a collaborative effort that encouraged federal, state and local government agencies to work with private landowners to restore watershed health and recover endangered salmon runs. Kitzhaber also took a high profile and controversial stand in favor of breaching several Northwest dams to help restore salmon populations.
Managing growth, particularly in the Willamette Valley, drew Kitzhaber's attention as well. A staunch supporter of Oregon's comprehensive land use system, he fought against attempts to weaken its protection of farmland and enforcement of urban growth boundaries. Kitzhaber also created the Governor's Growth Task Force and the Willamette Valley Livability Forum to help gather accurate information and outline integrated approaches for developing sustainable communities. His related Community Solutions program attempted to focus the efforts of numerous state agencies, other governments, and interested groups in collaborative problem solving and coordination to manage various community development projects across Oregon...
"Kitzhaber serves as the Director for the Center for Evidence Based Policy at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon. He holds an endowed Chair on Health Care Policy with The Foundation for Medical Excellence, an Oregon based public, nonprofit educational foundation. On January 13, 2006 Kitzhaber launched the Archimedes Movement, an organization seeking to maximize the health of the population by creating a sustainable system which uses the public resources spent on health care to ensure that everyone has access to a defined set of effective health services. The goal is to create not only this vision for a more equitable and sustainable system but also the tension necessary for its realization."
Raúl Grijalva -- "As member and later chairman of Pima County Board of Supervisors, Grijalva was widely regarded as the leading political supporter of the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan, an ambitious and highly regarded county program for planned land-use and biodiversity conservation. He has consistently supported endangered species conservation and wilderness issues then and as a Congressman...Grijalva is a strong supporter of sovereignty and government-to-government relationship[s]."
Thanks to McJoan over at the Daily Kos for the link. She has a nice post up about the The Choice to Clean Up the Bush Mess at Interior. From the article:
At Interior, I expect that Grijalva and Thompson have a leg up. Thompson has been heavily pushed by hunting and fishing organizations, as well as by influential Congressman George Miller. Arizona representative Raul Grijalva meets a couple of key criteria
Choosing the congressman, who was just re-elected to his fifth term, would please both Latino advocates and the environmental community. Grijalva boasts a 95 percent lifetime score with the League of Conservation Voters, and he oversaw a federal study that linked oil and gas development on public lands with the decline in Western hunting habitat. He has also questioned the cheap grazing permits the Interior Department has leased to ranchers in the West.
For the rest of the west--the drought stricken interior--Grijalva would probably be a better choice than Thompson. One factor is the inherent hostility of most of the Interior west to California--a Rocky Mountain state secretary would have an advantage in dealing with the interior states governors and lawmakers. That perhaps shouldn't be a factor, but it's a reality. As an outspoken and constant critic of the Bush administration, last month he issued a scathing report titled "The Bush Administration's Assaults on Our National Parks, Forests and Public Lands," accusing Bush of carrying out "a concerted strategy" of reducing protections for federal properties, "opening up these lands for every type of private, commercial and extractive industry possible." Grijalva has an in-depth understanding of how we got into this mess, and would have a leg up on figuring how to get us out.
As for the other contenders, Kitzhaber is a phenomenal politician--the anti-politician. He's a consensus builder and is insanely popular in Oregon. But he's been out of the public spotlight, by choice, since he left the governor's office in 2004. Tony Knowles, the former governor of Alaska, would be a slightly controversial choice because of his past support for development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (as pretty much all Alaska politicians do). After these past eight years, I'd argue for an Interior Secretary with an inherent skepticism toward more drilling.
That Grijalva is apparently a leading candidate (though his spokesperson claims that he hasn't been contacted) is highly encouraging. The environment and the stewardship of our public lands is one area in which a "mandate for reconciliation" should definitely be put aside in favor of as complete a reversal of Bush policy as possible.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
Memo to the Obama transition team: Coyote Gulch is available.
"colorado water"
6:25:03 AM 
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