Kempthorne Picked for Interior
Idaho Governor Hailed by Bush, Assailed by Environmentalists

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...19.html?sub=AR

By Peter Baker and Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, March 17, 2006; Page A04

President Bush named Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne as the new secretary of the interior yesterday, choosing a popular Western Republican with Washington experience and a disputed environmental record to oversee the nation's parks and public lands.

If confirmed, Kempthorne would succeed Gale A. Norton, who announced her resignation this month at a time when her department is tied up in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. Kempthorne, 54, a two-term governor who served in the Senate in the 1990s, presumably should have little trouble winning the approval of his former colleagues.

"Dirk understands that those who live closest to the land know how to manage it best," Bush said as he introduced his nominee to reporters in the Oval Office late in the day. "And he will work closely with state and local leaders to ensure wise stewardship of our resources."

Bush said Kempthorne would help "develop the energy potential of federal lands and waters in environmentally sensitive ways."

But environmental groups immediately assailed the selection, calling it the latest example of the Bush administration selling out to development and energy industry interests. Environmentalists noted that Kempthorne fought to open national forests to logging, mining, and oil and gas drilling. They said he worked to weaken water safety and endangered species laws.

"At a time when these controversial issues need a leader who can find common ground, the president could not have chosen a more divisive nominee," said Philip E. Clapp, president of the National Environmental Trust.

The League of Conservation Voters offered a two-sentence response: "During his career in Congress, Governor Kempthorne earned a paltry 1 percent lifetime LCV score. Enough said."

Kempthorne has been a favorite in the Bush White House for years and was considered three years ago as the likely choice for administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. He may have cemented his relationship with the president last summer when he and Bush went biking through Idaho trails together. Bush recalled that day fondly yesterday and noted that Kempthorne and his wife, Patricia, were married during a sunrise ceremony atop Idaho's Moscow Mountain.

But Kempthorne has also demonstrated independence from the White House on some issues. Just last month, he led a protest by the nation's governors against Bush's proposed cuts in Pentagon funding for the National Guard, calling them "a formula for disaster."

Kempthorne launched his political career as mayor of Boise and then won election to the Senate in 1992. He returned home to run for governor in 1998. His Web site says he has "worked to develop consensus on management of Idaho's and the West's natural resources" and crafted a bipartisan accord with counterparts in Oregon, Washington and Montana to preserve salmon. It also says that he developed plans to manage wolves and grizzly bears with the goal of removing them from the list of endangered species and that he fought to give states the power to manage land within their borders.

Bush's policies may put Kempthorne in a tough position with some of his old constituents. "Is he going to stand with the Bush administration to sell off land that Westerners use to hunt and fish?" asked Chuck Oxley of the Idaho Democratic Party. "If he's going to do that, we'll oppose him 110 percent."

Kempthorne will face a slew of challenges once he takes over at the Interior Department, including a shrinking budget and a growing debate over how to best protect endangered species. The National Park Service is facing a massive maintenance backlog: A recent Congressional Research Service report estimated its cost to be between $4.5 billion and $9.7 billion.

Craig Obey, vice president for government affairs at the National Parks Conservation Association, said he was encouraged by the fact that as Idaho's governor Kempthorne has lobbied for more money to go into the state's parks. "That's something we obviously are hoping will carry into his efforts in Washington, D.C.," Obey said.

If Kempthorne is confirmed and steps down from the governorship, Lt. Gov. Jim Risch would take over. Oxley said Risch has until today to file if he wants to run for the Republican nomination and seek a full term.