By Jim Stanford on December 17, 2008
Cowboy up: Salazar, a rancher, brings a familiarity with Wyoming to Interior.
Now that President-Elect Barack Obama has chosen Colo. Sen. Ken Salazar to be Interior secretary and former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack to head the Department of Agriculture, what can we expect for management of public lands in the West?
Obviously, there will be a sharp correction back to the center, after eight years of pillaging by oil and gas companies and other Bush-Cheney cronies. Obama firmly has pledged that science will guide policy, a novel concept.
The Casper Star-Tribune says the Salazar pick has been widely hailed, although environmental groups had been pushing for a more left-leaning candidate.
Salazar is a friend of Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal, and the two have done some campaigning and fund-raising. Both of them realize the value of minerals to their states’ economies and are unlikely to disrupt the entrenched industries.
However, after fending off an onslaught from the federal government for years, Freudenthal and Salazar have to be smiling these days, as now they have the oil and gas industry by the balls. Future development, as necessary as it may be, ought to come more on our terms.
With the appointment of Vilsack, from a corn-producing state, the president-elect must resolve the debate over ethanol subsidies, in light of pretty solid evidence that corn-based ethanol is not the solution to our energy needs.
Obama’s energy platform during the campaign touted the benefits of cellulosic ethanol, produced from grasses and agricultural byproducts. Hopefully we can put small farmers to work producing the smarter sources of energy while protecting global food supplies.
A key question, given the staggering amounts of money Obama has pledged to invest in health care and the economy, is will the new public lands bosses be able to do anything about the chronic underfunding of the Forest Service and Park Service, a slow starvation that has opened the door to privatization and commercialization of some of our natural treasures?
Couldn’t we put tens of thousands of people to work in the forests and parks, fixing the maintenance backlog, building trails, reclaiming lands and managing for wildfires and bark beetles? Wouldn’t that create green jobs and stimulate the economy, especially here in the West?
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Chris Merrill of the Casper Star-Tribune reports on the selection of Salazar: “Carmi McLean, public outreach director with the Laramie-based Biodiversity Conservation Alliance, said she has known and worked with Salazar for more than 20 years.
“‘He’s really good. Very fair. He makes decisions based on law and science,’ McLean said. ‘His style is one of being very thoughtful. You can’t assume anything with him. He never starts out on anybody’s side. He listens to both sides and he’s clearly a centrist. I think everybody will get a fair hearing with him and he will bring all stakeholders to the table.’”
Franz Camenzind of the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance was less enthusiastic, Merrill reports. “We’ve lived under eight years of the conservation community being entirely shut out of decision making,” Camenzind said. “Getting a place back at the table would be refreshing at this point.”
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Updated — Here are a few more perspectives:
- Environmentalists complain about Salazar in this N.Y. Times story.
- And the Organic Consumers Association is calling for a block on Vilsack’s nomination.
- From Nicholas Kristof: “Unfortunately, Mr. Obama on Wednesday chose Tom Vilsack, the former governor of Iowa who has longstanding ties to agribusiness interests, as agriculture secretary — his weakest selection so far.”
- N.Y. Times editorial says Salazar can’t be “too nice.”
If anyone comes across more good analysis pieces, please pass along the links.
Posted under Economy, Environment, Politics
