Salazar Plots Cautious Course at Interior

When President Obama appointed the former Colorado senator Ken Salazar as Interior secretary almost a year ago, he said that he was taking the helm of the federal government’s most troubled agency. Mr. Obama directed Mr. Salazar to reverse eight years of Bush administration actions on lands, energy, mining and endangered species and to end a culture of coziness with industries the agency was supposed to regulate. He also ordered Mr. Salazar to find ways to tap the abundant sources of energy - wind, solar, hydro and geothermal - on public lands as a way of fighting climate change and fostering energy independence. The Interior Department, responsible for roughly a fifth of the land mass of the United States, has in recent years been wracked by scandal, bad morale, obsolete technology and lack of a clear policy direction. Mr. Salazar, a modest fifth-generation rancher who favors cowboy hats and bolo ties, moved quickly to undo many of his predecessors’ policies with a series of legal and administrative actions. But his cautious approach to many contentious issues, like hunting of the gray wolf and oil drilling on sensitive lands, has exposed him to criticism from the left and the right. Environmental advocates complain he has been too timid on a number of resource issues, while oil and timber interests have criticized his policies as too protectionist...read more