19 Western governors protest Zinke’s plan to change Interior boundaries

A group of 19 governors of Western states are protesting Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's plan to overhaul the department, saying he has not sought their recommendations. The bipartisan Western Governors Association sent a letter to Zinke on Feb. 1 asking for a delay on the plan, according to The Associated Press on Thursday. n the letter, the governors said that the association asked Zinke in recent months to consult them if he planned to reshuffle the regional management structure. The governors said that Zinke had not consulted them on the proposed changes. “Western governors expect to be treated as the chief executives of a sovereign level of government, not as stakeholders,” the association's executive director Jim Ogsbury told the AP. In the letter, the state leaders asked how the plan, which would divide management of some states in up to three regions, would affect how the department interacts with state authorities. The governors that signed the letter represent South Dakota, Hawaii, Alaska, Colorado, California, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Wyoming, Idaho, Nebraska, and North Dakota...more