Defenders Magazine
Get Defenders Headlines
Get the latest wildlife conservation news and information... right when we post it online.
Defenders Magazine
Defenders View
An Open Letter to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne
Dear Secretary Kempthorne:
As Secretary of the Department of the Interior, you are now the nation's top steward of our precious wildlife and top manager of one-fifth of our federal lands, including our treasured parks and wildlife refuges that millions of Americans visit and enjoy. It was a nice gesture to take time out of your first day in office to have a short phone conversation with conservation leaders. We were all pleased when you said that you welcome our thoughts as you begin your term as Secretary. I am happy to share mine in this letter.
It is no secret that the conservation community was constantly at odds with your predecessor and that we believe her tenure as Interior Secretary was horribly destructive and disgraceful. Judging from editorial opinion across the country, our view is widely shared.
During the past six years, the scale and breadth of attacks on our country's wildlife heritage have been staggering. Under former Secretary Gale Norton's watch at the Department of the Interior protections for imperiled wildlife were ignored and drilling and development became the priority for our last remaining wild lands. Wildlife sanctuaries, parks and refuges were neglected, underfunded and left to decline.
You have an immense challenge ahead of you--and an opportunity--to r estore the trust of the American people. To meet this challenge, we hope that you will reject the ill-conceived practices of the past and commit that under your guidance the Department of the Interior will once again:
1. Honor the law. Our system allows for a healthy and honest debate over what federal conservation laws require and how they should be implemented. However, during the past six years, these laws were repeatedly and knowingly ignored when they conflicted with the administration's determination to serve industry and developers. The result was not only extensive damage to our nation's natural wealth, but also a long record of courtroom losses that have inflicted serious damage on the Interior Department's reputation for respecting the laws of the land.
2. Use good science. There are volumes of confirmed stories of top Interior officials weakening the department's own science capabilities, ignoring the findings of the government's own science-based reports and modifying, hiding or ignoring other scientific reports that didn't support predetermined political objectives. Our nation's conservation laws require the use of the best available science. It is the cornerstone of credible decision-making and must be respected.
3. Insist on ethical conduct. Under former Secretary Norton's leadership, the top positions at the Interior Department were filled by industry lobbyists. Their actions strongly suggest that many used their official positions to promote the goals of their former clients above the mission of the Interior Department and the American people. For instance, former Deputy Secretary J. Steven Griles, who was paid more than a quarter million dollars per year from industry at the same time as he was collecting his government salary, repeatedly and inappropriately promoted industry's interests when, at a minimum, he should have recused himself because of obvious conflicts of interest. None of this bothered former Secretary Norton, who refused to take any significant action to restore integrity to the Interior Department.
4. Be a voice for conservation. Within any administration, presidential policy initiatives often impact multiple departments and therefore generate s ignificant debate before being finalized. In this circumstance, any cause that must rely on a weak or faithless cabinet advocate has no hope for a fair or balanced presidential decision. This has happened to conservation repeatedly over the past six years as seemingly, former Secretary Norton was either unable or had no desire to mount a meaningful defense of Interior's duty to conservation. The result was an extensive dismantling of long-existing, productive Interior policies and programs and a serious demoralizing of Interior's well-respected and highly professional career staff.
Conservationists across the country sincerely hope and expect that y ou will be a proud and able conservation advocate within the Bush cabinet. We look forward to having a conservation leader who will be honest and fair w ith our natural resources, who will respect sound science, who will be inclusive a nd transparent in decision-making and who will be a voice for conservation w ithin the highest offices of government. That is what being Secretary of the Department of the Interior entails.
We hope you will be this leader. If this is your intention, we are ready to support and applaud your efforts. The health of our nation's wildlife and other natural resources depends upon you charting a path for the Interior Department that is markedly different from that which it has taken for the past six years.
Sincerely,
Rodger Schlickeisen, President
