DOI Response to Economic Recession

http://www.doi.gov/news/09_News_Releases/041009a.html

From the Department of Interior:

April 10, 2009

Secretary Salazar Announces Department of Interior Economic Stimulus Projects: USGS Investments Underscore Commitment to “Best Science”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced the Department of the Interior’s first projects under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 – $140 million that will fund 308 U.S. Geological Survey projects across the 50 states. The USGS, the leading science research bureau in the federal government, supports the science needs of all the other bureaus of the Department of the Interior and other departments of the U.S. government. The USGS will play a critical role in addressing the nation’s energy and climate change challenges.

Overall, the Department of the Interior will manage $3.0 billion in investments as part of the recovery plan signed by the President to jumpstart our economy, create or save jobs, and put a down payment on addressing long-neglected challenges so our country can thrive in the 21st Century.

“These USGS projects not only stimulate job creation and preservation, but they stimulate the scientific research that must underpin the decisions we make on behalf of the American people as the stewards of the nation’s natural resources,” Secretary Salazar said in a teleconference today. “As America’s leading earth science agency, USGS is central to helping us meet the imperatives of the nation’s energy and climate change challenges.”

Among the programs funded through the Department’s ARRA investments, USGS will dedicate $15.2 million to volcano monitoring and $14.6 million to streamgage upgrades, support that will further the agency’s recent efforts to protect life and property in places such as Alaska and North Dakota.

The $140 million announced today for USGS will fund repair, construction and restoration of facilities; equipment replacement and upgrades; national map activities; and critical deferred maintenance and improvement projects. Specific investments include:

• Volcano Monitoring - $15.2 million to modernize equipment in the National Volcano Early Warning System (NVEWS) at all USGS volcano observatories. The U.S. and its territories include some of the most volcanically-active regions in the world, with 169 active volcanoes. As many as 54 of these potentially dangerous volcanoes need improved monitoring.
• Upgrades to streamgages used in flood monitoring - $14.6 million to upgrade to high-data radio (HDR) technology and upgrade streamgages with new technologies for streamflow measurement. All 7,500 streamgages will be upgraded by 2012.
• Water Program Deferred Maintenance – $14.6 million for remediation to remove streamgages, cableways, and ground-water wells that are no longer in use, making these sites safer for public enjoyment and support local economies.
• Deferred Maintenance of Facilities - $29.4 million for projects that address health and safety issues; functional needs such as improved laboratory space; make facilities more energy efficient, and incorporate sustainable design criteria in project implementation.
• Earthquake Monitoring - $29.4 million to modernize the Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS) by doubling the number of ANSS-quality stations and upgrading seismic networks nationwide, to bring the total from approximately 800 to 1600. These improved networks will deliver faster, more reliable and more accurate information – helping to save lives by providing better situational awareness in the wake of the damaging earthquakes that can strike this nation at any time.
• Construction - $17.8 million for research facilities at Patuxent Wildlife Refuge Research Center in Patuxent, MD; the Columbia Environmental Research Center (CERC) in Columbia, MO; and the Upper Midwest Environmental Services Center (UMESC) in LaCrosse, WI. Work at these centers will improve the ability of scientists to conduct innovative research on contaminants and wildlife, endangered species, wind power and wildlife, adaptive management, wildlife disease and much more. The rehabilitation of these facilities will support jobs for the local community, improve functionality, and reduce long-term operating costs.
• Imagery and Elevation Maps - $14.6 million to improve mapping data, which will then be made available for multiple uses including flood mapping, emergency operations, and natural resource management.
• Data Preservation - $488,000 to the USGS Bird Banding Laboratory (BBL) to digitize, and make available to the public via the Internet, the historical banding recovery and bird banding records. Bird banding data have a wide variety of uses including applications for disease research.

“President Obama and this Department have ambitious goals to build America’s new energy future, protect and restore our treasured landscapes, and create a 21st Century Youth Conservation Corps,” added Salazar. “These USGS projects and the science that guides them will help us fulfill these goals while helping American families and their communities prosper.”

The USGS projects were selected in a rigorous merit-based process based on the longstanding priorities of the agency, as will all projects included in the Department’s Recovery Act funding.

Noting that he is visiting Alaska next week, Salazar emphasized the critical nature of USGS’ work in emergencies. “Their monitoring of Redoubt, which has erupted several times, alerted people in the pathway of the volcano to take precautions ahead of time. Protecting public safety is invaluable.”

The five USGS Volcano Observatories have been allotted $15.2 million to modernize monitoring networks and warning systems. Many of the dangerous volcanoes in the United States may not be monitored well enough for scientists to warn the public of explosive eruptions, alert aircraft of ash clouds or warn communities of ash falls and lava and mud flows. The importance of these observatories was evident during the recent Mar. 22 eruption of Mount Redoubt Volcano, 106 miles southwest of Anchorage. The Alaska Volcano Observatory started issuing warnings of an impending eruption starting Jan. 23 after recording increased seismic activity at the volcano, giving communities and businesses time to prepare. The observatory’s top priority is to prevent repetition of the incident that occurred during Redoubt’s eruption 19 years ago, when a Boeing 747 passenger aircraft strayed into an ash cloud and nearly crashed. Stimulus funds will improve AVO’s preparedness and vigilance, both at Redoubt and at other similar volcanoes in Alaska.

With respect to the funds for streamflow and flood monitoring projects, USGS has a network of 7,500 streamgages, most of which run on solar power. The streamgages feature radios transmitters that send data to satellites. Because of advances in satellite communication technology, these radios will be obsolete in 2013. The stimulus funds will enable USGS to upgrade streamgages with new radio transmitters that will reduce transmission time and make data available to the public hourly, an improvement from the current wait of 3-4 hours.

“This type of technology was pivotal to addressing the flooding hazards that recently threatened North Dakota,” added Salazar. “Stream flow monitoring is critically important to our understanding of the effects of climate change on water availability in some regions of the nation, and accurate long-term streamflow information is necessary to determine how water managers can respond and adapt to these changes.”

Secretary Salazar has pledged unprecedented levels of transparency and accountability in the implementation of the Department of the Interior’s economic recovery projects. The public will be able to follow the progress of each project on www.recovery.gov and on www.interior.gov/recovery. Secretary Salazar has appointed a Senior Advisor for Economic Recovery, Chris Henderson, and an Interior Economic Recovery Task Force. Henderson and the Task Force will work closely with the Department of the Interior’s Inspector General to ensure that the recovery program is meeting the high standards for accountability, responsibility, and transparency that President Obama has set.

Salazar Pushes Offshore Wind Development

From the Department of the Interior:

April 2, 2009

Secretary Salazar: U.S. Offshore Wind Resources Could Lead America’s Clean-Energy Revolution

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – U.S. offshore areas hold enormous potential for wind energy development near the nation’s highest areas of electricity demand – coastal metropolitan centers, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said today. 

“More than three-fourths of the nation’s electricity demand comes from coastal states and 
the wind potential off the coasts of the lower 48 states actually exceeds our entire U.S. electricity demand,” Salazar told a summit meeting of 25X’25 America’s Energy Future, a group working to lower America’s carbon emissions.

Citing major findings of a report he commissioned from Interior scientists, Salazar also said the Outer Continental Shelf energy resources report found huge information gaps about the location and extent of offshore oil and gas resources. 

“Along the Atlantic Coast, for example, the seismic data we have is twenty-five years old,” Salazar said. “How should we gather the information we currently lack about our offshore oil and gas resources?  How do we manage the costs of gathering seismic data?  Are there areas on the OCS that should be of priority for information collection?”
 
Salazar said information from the U.S. Geological Survey-Minerals Management Service Report will be a starting point for public comment meetings around the country in the next few weeks, starting in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and New Orleans, Louisiana, next week.   The Executive Summary is online at http://www.doi.gov/ocs.

“Yes, we can build a clean energy future,” Salazar told the summit, “but it will require American energy, American ingenuity and American courage to tackle our dependence on foreign oil and the growing perils of climate change.”

“The realities of climate change are upon us,” Salazar said. “For too long we have ignored the true costs of our energy use. Building America’s clean energy future is front and center on President Obama’s agenda.  He knows that if we are turn our economy around; that if we are to lead the next great technological transformation in our world; and that if we are to create millions of new clean-energy jobs here at home, we must finally take the moon-shot on energy independence.”

Oil, gas, and coal will be part of that plan, but they alone are not enough, Salazar said, noting that the United States must import almost two-thirds of its oil and most of that goes to the transportation sector. “America’s own oil and natural gas supplies are limited,” the Secretary noted. “We sit on 3 percent of the world’s oil reserves.  We consume 25 percent of its oil.  Our dependence on foreign oil is a national security problem, an environmental security problem, and an economic security problem.”

Interior, which managers of one-fifth of the nation’s land mass and 1.7 billion acres of ocean off the U.S. coasts, will have a major role in creating the nation’s clean-energy future, Salazar said. The Department’s Bureau of Land Management has identified about 20.6 million acres of public land with wind energy potential in the 11 western states and 29.5 million acres with solar energy potential in the six southwestern states.  There are also over 140 million acres of public land in the western states and Alaska with geothermal resource potential.

There is also significant wind and wave potential in U.S. offshore waters.  The National Renewable Energy Lab has identified more than 1,000 gigawatts of wind potential off the Atlantic coast, and more than 900 gigawatts of wind potential off the Pacific Coast.  The Lab estimates that the class 5 wind potential off the coasts of the lower 48 states exceeds the entire U.S. electricity demand.  Currently, there are more than 2,000 megawatts of offshore wind projects proposed in the United States. 

“We are opening our doors not just to oil and gas and coal, but also to the wise development of solar, wind and wave, biofuels, geothermal, and small hydro on America’s lands,” Salazar said.

Video, audio and text of the Secretary’s remarks as well as more information on Interior’s  Outer Continental Shelf responsibilities are online at http://www.doi.gov/ocs.

Obama's Remarks on the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009

Well, thank you so much, Ken, for that extraordinary introduction and for the work that you and your team are undertaking at the Department of the Interior. We're going to add a little bit to your plate today as a consequence of this extraordinary piece of legislation.

I want to thank all the members of the legislature who helped to craft this. Many of them are on the stage here today. Obviously I've got to single out the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, for her extraordinary leadership, but also our Leader in the Senate, Harry Reid, who worked so diligently on this bill and made sure that it got done. And so please give all of these legislators a big round of applause. (Applause.)

If you'll indulge me, there are just a couple other people I want to acknowledge: Nancy Sutley, who is the Chair of our Council on Environmental Quality, who is here. Where's Nancy? There she is, right in front. (Applause.) Jane Lubchenco, who is the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Please, Jane -- (applause.) A couple of great friends from Indian Nation -- President Joe Shirley of Navaho Nation, who is here. Go ahead, Joe, stand up. (Applause.) And Tribal Chairman Robert Bear, of the Duck Valley Shoshone-Paiute Tribes. Thank you so much. (Applause.)

It is fitting that we meet on a day like this. Winter's hardships are slowly giving way to spring, and our thoughts naturally tend to turn to the outdoors. We emerge from the shelter offered by home and work, and we look around and we're reminded that the most valuable things in this life are those things that we already possess.

As Americans, we possess few blessings greater than the vast and varied landscapes that stretch the breadth of our continent. Our lands have always provided great bounty -- food and shelter for the first Americans, for settlers and pioneers; the raw materials that grew our industry; the energy that powers our economy.

What these gifts require in return is our wise and responsible stewardship. As our greatest conservationist President, Teddy Roosevelt, put it almost a century ago, "I recognize the right and duty of this generation to develop and use the natural resources of our land; but I do not recognize the right to waste them, or to rob, by wasteful use, the generations that come after us."

That's the spirit behind the bipartisan legislation I'm signing today -- legislation among the most important in decades to protect, preserve, and pass down our nation's most treasured landscapes to future generations.

Many senators and congressmen here deserve enormous credit for making this bill possible. I'm grateful to all their hard work. As I mentioned before, Harry Reid made this a top priority. He made sure this was the first bill the Senate passed this year. This day would not be possible without his tireless dedication to protecting our treasured lands.

This legislation -- just to give you a sense of the scope -- this legislation guarantees that we will not take our forests, rivers, oceans, national parks, monuments, and wilderness areas for granted; but rather we will set them aside and guard their sanctity for everyone to share. That's something all Americans can support.

And that's why so much of this legislation, some of it decades in the making, has the backing of Americans from every walk of life and corner of this country. Ranchers and fishermen, small business owners, environmentalists, conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats on the local, state and federal levels -- all united around the idea that there should be places that we must preserve; all doing the hard work of seeking common ground to protect the parks and other places that we cherish.

We're talking about places like Colorado, where this bill will realize a vision 35 years in the making by protecting the wild back country of Rocky Mountain National Park, which attracts 3 million visitors a year.

Folks in communities around this park know they don't have to choose between economic and environmental concerns; the tourism that drives their local economy depends on good stewardship of their local environment. And year after year, these communities have worked together with members of Congress in an attempt to ensure that Rocky Mountain National Park will forever remain as breathtaking as it is today.

And that is what this bill does from coast to coast. It protects treasured places from the Appalachians of Virginia and West Virginia to Michigan's Upper Peninsula; from the canyons of Idaho to the sandstone cliffs of Utah; from the Sierra Nevadas in California to the Badlands of Oregon.

It designates more than 2 million acres across nine states as wilderness; almost as much as was designated over the past eight years combined.

It creates thousands of miles of new scenic, historic, and recreational trails, cares for our historic battlefields, strengthens our National Park System.

It safeguards more than 1,000 miles of our rivers, protects watersheds and cleans up polluted groundwater, defends our oceans and Great Lakes, and will revitalize our fisheries, returning fish to rivers that have not seen them in decades.

And it wisely faces our future challenges with regard to water. This bill assesses how growth and climate change will affect our access to water resources, especially in the West and Southwest, and it includes solutions to complex and long-simmering water disputes. It's hard to overstate the real and measurable impact this will have on people's lives -- people like Frank Chee Willetto, a Navajo code talker in World War II, who's joined us today. And because of this legislation, Frank, along with 80,000 others in the Navajo Nation, will have access to clean running water for the very first time. That's something worth applauding. (Applause.) Thank you for your service. (Applause.)

When coupled with the Recovery Act, which makes an historic $3 billion investment creating jobs that will restore and protect our landscapes and our ecosystems, preserve our national monuments, retrofit our facilities for energy efficiency and renewable energy-- taken together, today's legislation takes another step toward fulfilling Teddy Roosevelt's vision for this land that we love.

It's a vision that sees America's great wilderness as a place where what was and what is and what will be -- all are the same; a place where memories are lived and relived; a place where Americans both young and young at heart can freely experience the spirit of adventure that has always been at the heart of the rugged character of America.

Now, the legislation I'm signing today also makes progress on another front for which many Americans have long waited.

The Christopher and Dana Reeve's Paralysis Act is the first piece of comprehensive legislation specifically aimed at addressing the challenges faced by Americans living with paralysis. (Applause.) Many folks and organizations from across the disability community worked hard to get this bill passed, and we are grateful to each of you for bringing us that much closer to providing all Americans with disabilities a full, fair and equal opportunity to achieve the American Dream.

This act creates new coordinated research activities through the National Institutes of Health that will connect the best minds and best practices from the best labs in the country, and focus their endeavors through collaborative scientific research into the cure for paralysis, saving effort, money, and, most importantly, time.

It promotes enhanced rehabilitation services for paralyzed Americans, helping develop better equipment and technology that will allow them to live full and independent lives free from unnecessary barriers. And it will work to improve the quality of life for all those who live with paralysis, no matter what the cause.

That's the mission of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. In the lobby of their facility in New Jersey sits Christopher's empty wheelchair. And his son, Matthew Reeve, was once asked if the sight of it ever saddened him, and he replied no. He said, "Empty chairs -- that was Dad's goal," he said. "We hope there will be many more of them."

Matthew is here with us today. And the legislation I'm about to sign makes solid progress toward the realization of that hope and the promise of a brighter future.

All in all, this legislation is that rare end product of what happens when Americans of all parties and places come together in common purpose to consider something more than the politics of the moment. It's the very idea at the heart of this country: that each generation has a responsibility to secure this nation's promise for the next. And by signing this bill into law, that's what we're doing today.

So -- is Matthew here, by the way? Matthew, come on up. (Applause.) Let's sign this bill. (Applause.)

Salazar's Speech on America's Energy Future

http://www.doi.gov/secretary/speeches/031709_statement.html

From the Department of the Interior:

Statement of Ken Salazar, 
Secretary of The Interior, 
before The Energy And Natural Resources
On Energy Development On The Public Lands 
And Outer Continental Shelf
MARCH 17, 2009

Thank you, Chairman Bingaman, Senator Murkowski, and Members of the Committee, for giving me the opportunity to come before you today to discuss energy development on public lands and the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) under the Department of the Interior’s jurisdiction.  This is my first hearing before you since my confirmation as Secretary of the Interior and it is an honor to be here.

President Obama has pledged to work with you to develop a new energy strategy for the country.  His New Energy for America plan will create a clean energy-based economy that promotes investment and innovation here at home, generating millions of new jobs.  It will ensure energy security by reducing our dependence on foreign oil, increasing efficiency, and making responsible use of our domestic resources.  Finally, it will reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

During his visit to the Department for our 160th anniversary celebration two weeks ago, the President spoke about the Department’s major role in helping to create this new, secure, reliable and clean energy future.  The vast landholdings and management jurisdiction of the Department’s bureaus, encompassing 20 percent of the land mass of the United States and 1.7 billion acres of the Outer Continental Shelf, are key to realizing this vision through the responsible development of these resources. 

These lands have some of the highest renewable energy potential in the nation.  The Bureau of Land Management has identified a total of approximately 20.6 million acres of public land with wind energy potential in the 11 western states and approximately 29.5 million acres with solar energy potential in the six southwestern states.  There are also over 140 million acres of public land in western states and Alaska with geothermal resource potential.

There is also significant wind and wave potential in our offshore waters.  The National Renewable Energy Lab has identified more than 1,000 gigawatts of wind potential off the Atlantic coast, and more than 900 gigawatts of wind potential off the Pacific Coast. 

Renewable energy companies are looking to partner with the government to develop this renewable energy potential.  We should responsibly facilitate this development.   Unfortunately, today, in BLM southwestern states, there is a backlog of over 200 solar energy applications.  In addition, there are some 20 proposed wind development projects on BLM lands in the west.  These projects would create engineering and construction jobs.  
To help focus the Department of the Interior on the importance of renewable energy development, last Wednesday, March 11, I issued my first Secretarial Order.  The order makes facilitating the production, development, and delivery of renewable energy top priorities for the Department.  Of course, this would be accomplished in ways that also project our natural heritage, wildlife, and land and water resources.

The order also establishes an energy and climate change task force within the Department, drawing from the leadership of each of the bureaus.  The task force will be responsible for, among other things, quantifying the potential contributions of renewable energy resources on our public lands and the OCS and identifying and prioritizing specific “zones” on our public lands where the Department can facilitate a rapid and responsible move to significantly increased production of renewable energy from solar, wind, geothermal, incremental or small hydroelectric power on existing structures, and biomass sources.  The task force will prioritize the permitting and appropriate environmental review of transmission rights-of-way applications that are necessary to deliver renewable energy generation to consumers, and will work to resolve obstacles to renewable energy permitting, siting, development, and production without compromising environmental values. 

Accomplishing these goals may require new policies or practices or the revision of existing policies or practices, including possible revision of the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statements (PEISs) for wind and geothermal energy development and the West-Wide Corridors PEIS that BLM has completed, as well as their Records of Decision.  The Department of Interior will work with relevant agencies to explore these options.

We will also, as I have said before, finalize the regulations for offshore renewable development authorized by section 388 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which gave the Secretary of the Interior authority to provide access to the OCS for alternative energy and alternate use projects.  This rulemaking was proposed but never finalized by the previous Administration.

For these renewable energy zones to succeed, we will need to work closely with other agencies, states, Tribes and interested communities to determine what electric transmission infrastructure and transmission corridors are needed and appropriate to deliver these renewable resources to major population centers.  We must, in effect, create a national electrical superhighway system to move these resources from the places they are generated to where they are consumed.   We will assign a high priority to completing the permitting and appropriate environmental review of transmission rights-of-way applications that are necessary to accomplish this task.

Developing these renewable resources requires a balanced and mindful approach that addresses the impacts of development on wildlife, water resources and other interests under the Department’s management jurisdiction.  I recognize this responsibility, and it is not a charge I take lightly. 

At the same time, we must recognize that we will likely be dependent on conventional sources – oil, gas, and coal – for a significant portion of our energy for .many years to come.  Therefore it is important that the Department continue to responsibly develop these energy resources on public lands. 

In the past 7 weeks, the Department has held seven major oil and gas lease sales onshore, netting more than $33 million for taxpayers.  And tomorrow I will be in New Orleans for a lease sale covering approximately 34.6 million offshore acres in the Central Gulf of Mexico.  This sale includes 4.2 million acres in the 181 South Area, opened as a result of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act.  Continuing to develop these assets, through an orderly process and based on sound science, adds important resources to our domestic energy production.

Based on this approach, I announced last week that I would be hosting four regional public meetings next month in order to gather a broad range of viewpoints from all parties interested in energy development on the OCS.  In addition, I directed the Minerals Management Service and the U.S. Geological Survey to assemble a report on our offshore oil and gas resources and the potential for renewable energy resources, including wind, wave, and tidal energy.  The results of that report will be presented and discussed with the public.

The meetings will be held in Atlantic City, New Jersey, New Orleans, Louisiana, Anchorage, Alaska, and San Francisco, California, during the first two weeks in April.  These meetings are an integral part of our strategy for developing a new, comprehensive, and environmentally appropriate energy development plan for the OCS.  I have also extended the comment period on the previous Administration’s proposed 5-year Plan for development by 180 days.  We will use the information gathered at these regional meetings to help us develop the new 5 year plan on energy development on the OCS.

Similarly, again based on sound science, policy and public input, we will move forward with a second round of research, development, and demonstration leases for oil shale in Colorado and Utah.  While we need to move aggressively with these technologies, these leases will help answer the critical questions about oil shale, including about the viability of emerging technologies on a commercial scale, how much water and power would be required, and what impact commercial development would have on land, water, wildlife,  communities and on addressing global climate change.

We are also proceeding with development onshore, where appropriate, on our public lands.  As I noted above, the responsible development of our oil, gas and coal resources help us reduce our dependence on foreign oil, but this development must be done in a thoughtful and balanced way, and in a way that allows us to protect our signature landscapes, natural resources, wildlife, and cultural resources.

We also need to ensure that this development results in a fair return to the public that owns these federal minerals.  That’s why the President’s 2010 Budget includes several proposals to improve this return by closing loopholes, charging appropriate fees, and reforming how royalties are set.  Of course, I’ll be happy to discuss these in more detail after the Administration’s full budget request is released in the coming weeks.
 
Implementation of the President’s energy plan will ultimately focus the nation on development of a new green economy and move us toward energy independence, and I and my team are working hard to put that plan into place. 

Mr. Chairman, I know you and the Committee, along with the Majority Leader and others in Congress, are working hard on these issues.  I believe we are being presented today with an historic opportunity to enhance our economy, our environment, and our national security.  Too much is at stake for us to miss this opportunity.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee.  I am happy to answer any questions that you may have.

Salazar Reforms Oil and Gas Lease Sales

http://www.doi.gov/news/09_News_Releases/031609.html

From the Department of the Interior:

March 16, 2009

Secretary Salazar Announces 2009 Oil and Gas Lease Sale Schedule

Stresses Balance of Traditional and Renewable Energy Resource Development on U.S. Public Lands

DENVER, CO – The Department of the Interior will hold more than 40 major lease sales for oil and natural gas development on public lands this year, which are predicted to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for American taxpayers as well as billions of barrels of oil and trillions of cubic feet of natural gas to help meet the nation’s energy needs, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said today.

Salazar is also establishing the development of renewable and alternative energy sources on U.S. public lands as a Departmental priority and as a component of a comprehensive national energy strategy that will help the U.S. reduce its dependence on foreign oil.

“Oil, natural gas, and coal will play an important role in meeting our nation’s energy needs for many years to come,” Salazar said during a teleconference call with reporters from round the country. “But our long-term economic, environmental, and national security depends on our ability to lead the clean energy revolution. Our traditional energy resources are a bridge to our clean-energy economy of the future.”

Salazar will outline Interior’s plan to help responsibly develop America’s renewable and conventional energy resources in testimony to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday.

The Secretary noted that the Bureau of Land Management has already held seven onshore oil and gas lease sales in the last seven weeks, offering 830 leases that cover almost 1.2 million acres in the West. And 326 of those leases, totaling 254,000 acres, were sold, generating more than $32 million in revenues for the American taxpayers. BLM will hold an additional 32 oil and gas lease sales for onshore public lands around the country this year.

Salazar said he would be joining a Minerals Management Service lease sale on Wednesday that could produce up to a billion barrels of oil and 5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas -- a full year’s supply of natural gas for America’s homes. That Sale 208 will offer 6,458 blocks on the Outer Continental Shelf, covering 35 million acres in the Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area. This is the first of two Gulf of Mexico lease sales scheduled this year.

Wednesday’s sale includes the “181 South Area” and revenue from these leases will be included in immediate revenue-sharing with the four Gulf-producing States of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. The “181” area was opened for leasing in the Energy Security Act of 2006, which Salazar helped craft.

“I am particularly proud that thanks to a provision I authored in that legislation, 12.5 percent of the revenues will go directly to the Land and Water Conservation Fund stateside grant program to protect open space and build parks,” Salazar said. “It is America’s first permanent conservation royalty of its kind, and I look forward to talking more about it and President Obama’s vision for LWCF during my visit to the Gulf Coast.”

Emphasizing the need for clean-energy initiatives to balance our resource use, Salazar’s first Secretarial Order, issued last week, prioritized renewable energy development on U.S. public lands. “Through that order, I have established a task force to help identify renewable energy zones on public lands that are best suited for harnessing wind, solar, and geothermal power,” Salazar said. “The task force will also help us get moving toward siting and building the national electric superhighway system that President Obama has established as a priority for the country.”

Salazar also noted that the U. S. Geological Survey is releasing a report on carbon capture and sequestration that can help identify the best geologic formations in the country for carbon sequestration. “Rather than emit carbon into the air, our country can and should move toward capturing carbon emissions and storing them underground,” Salazar noted. USGS was directed to do the study by a legislative provision Salazar wrote in 2007.

On Thursday, Salazar also will meet with the board of directors of the American Petroleum Institute, including the CEO’s of America’s largest oil companies. “My message to them will be simple: they are, and will remain, an important part of our energy future. We need to work together on common sense solutions to the energy challenges we face. We share much common ground. We need an open and honest dialogue. And we need to move forward, with common purpose, to build a comprehensive energy plan for America.”

The Bureau of Land Management 2009 schedule of oil and gas lease sales is online at 
http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/energy/oil_and_gas/lease_sales.html

Salazar Pushes Renewable Energy

http://www.doi.gov/news/09_News_Releases/031109c.html

From the Department of the Interior:

March 11, 2009

Secretary Salazar Issues Order to Spur Renewable Energy Development on U.S. Public Lands

Energy Zones a Key to New Initiative

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Citing the critical need to reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil, build a clean energy economy and create new jobs, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today issued a Secretarial Order making the production, development, and delivery of renewable energy top priorities for the Department.

“More so than ever, with job losses continuing to mount, we need to steer the country onto a new energy path,” Salazar said. “One that creates new jobs and puts America out front in new, growing industries, one that promotes investment and innovation here at home and one that makes wise use of our domestic resources.”

In addition to making renewable energy production a top priority for the Department, Salazar’s Secretarial order establishes an energy and climate change task force that will spur this agenda and identify specific zones on U.S. public lands where Interior can facilitate a rapid and responsible move to large-scale production of solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass energy.

For these renewable energy zones to succeed, Salazar pointed out, Interior will need to work closely with other federal agencies, states and American Indian tribes to determine what electric transmission infrastructure and transmission corridors are needed to deliver these renewable resources to major population centers.

“We will assign a high priority to identifying renewable energy zones and completing the permitting and appropriate environmental review of transmission rights-of-way applications that are necessary to deliver renewable energy generation to consumers,” Salazar said. “We have to connect the sun of the deserts and the wind of the plains with the places where people live.”

Interior manages one fifth of the country’s landmass, over 1.7 billion offshore acres, and lands with some of the highest renewable energy potential in the nation. Interior’s Bureau of Land Management has identified about 21 million acres of public land with wind energy potential in the 11 western states and about 29 million acres with solar energy potential in the six southwestern states. There are also 140 million acres of public land in western states and Alaska that have geothermal resource potential.

In addition, there is significant wind and wave energy potential offshore. The National Renewable Energy Lab has identified more than 1,000 gigawatts of wind potential off the Atlantic coast, and more than 900 gigawatts of wind potential off our Pacific Coast.

The task force will prioritize the permitting and appropriate environmental review of transmission rights-of-way applications that are necessary to deliver renewable energy generation to consumers. The task force will work to resolve obstacles to renewable energy permitting, siting, development, and production.

To help accomplish these goals, Interior may need to revise existing policies or create new policies, Salazar said, citing as examples the Geothermal, Wind, and West-Wide Corridors Programmatic Environmental Impact Statements and their respective Records of Decisions. Interior will also finalize a regulation for offshore renewable development.

Salazar explained that the Department of the Interior will continue to responsibly develop oil and gas resources on public lands. “In the last six weeks we have had five major oil and gas lease sales onshore, netting more than $32 million in revenue for taxpayers. And next week, I will be travelling to New Orleans to participate in a lease sale for the Central Gulf of Mexico. These will add important resources to our domestic energy production.”

New Drought Plan Offered

http://www.doi.gov/news/09_News_Releases/022709.html

From the Bureau of Reclamation:

Feb. 26, 2009

Secretary Salazar and Secretary Vilsack Pledge
Coordinated Federal Response to California Drought

Washington, DC – Today Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the creation of a Federal Drought Action Team that will work cooperatively to respond to communities facing significant drought. With California currently facing one of its worst droughts in decades, the Drought Action Team will work with Governor Schwarzenegger’s state drought response team to minimize the social, economic, and environmental impacts of the current drought.

The announcement follows last Friday’s announcement by the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation that, based on water forecasts, initial Water Year (WY) 2009 allocations for the Federal Central Valley Project (CVP) will be significantly limited for agricultural, municipal, industrial, and environmental uses.

“The drought situation in California is dire,” said Secretary Salazar. “Farms, ranches, and communities across the Central Valley are withering on the vine and in need of any help that the federal government can provide. The formation of a Federal Drought Action Team will ensure that the federal government’s response to the drought is coordinated across all agencies and that we are doing all we can to provide assistance where it is needed as quickly as possible.”

“President Obama has emphasized the need to have coordinated, transparent, and accountable actions throughout the federal government. With the creation of this Federal Drought Action Team, USDA and DOI will be working together to quickly deploy help to the communities that need it most,” Secretary Vilsack said. “During a disaster such as extreme drought, it is essential that farmers, ranchers, and rural communities have confidence that the government will be working together to ensure they have access to every tool available.”

The Federal Drought Action Team will include representatives appointed by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, along with representatives from other federal agencies. A similar federal drought action team was formulated in July 2005 to coordinate drought relief in the Pacific Northwest.

In addition, Secretary Salazar is directing the Bureau of Reclamation to work closely with State authorities to facilitate water transfers for the Drought Water Bank that is operated by the State. He also is directing Reclamation to provide operational flexibility to convey and store water to facilitate additional transfers and exchanges that can move water to critical-need areas, and to expedite any related environmental review and compliance actions. Finally, the Secretary is calling on Reclamation to explore ways in which funds recently appropriated to Reclamation under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for water reuse projects, and other water projects, might be used to help stretch California’s water supplies in the coming months.

Both USDA and DOI offer a range of assistance programs that help farmers, ranchers and rural communities impacted by drought. USDA programs that provide relief assistance include the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA), Crop Insurance through the Risk Management Agency (RMA), and the protection of rangeland forage from grasshopper outbreaks through the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). When approved, producers in individual counties may be eligible for Emergency Loans and the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) administered by FSA. In addition, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provides technical assistance to help producers plan and manage natural resources on private lands and administers the Environmental Quality Incentives Program to assist land managers with efficient water quantity management during drought conditions. The NRCS also administers Agricultural Water Enhancement Program focuses specifically on conservation of ground and surface water.

Additionally, in partnership with the California Department of Water Resources, the NRCS Snow Survey and Water Supply Forecasting Program provides water supply information applicable to the affected area.

New Plan for Resource Management on Tribal Lands

http://www.doi.gov/bia/docs/EnergyInternshpPgmCorrectedPR.pdf

From the Bureau of Indian Affairs:

February 25, 2009

Skibine Announces New Effort to Recruit, Train Next Generation of Tribal Energy, Natural Resource Management Professionals

WASHINGTON – Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Economic Development – Indian Affairs George T. Skibine today announced a new effort to recruit and train American Indian and Alaska Native post-secondary students to become Indian Country’s next generation of tribal energy and natural resource management professionals. The Energy Resource Development Tribal Internship Program has been developed through a partnership between the Indian Affairs Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development (IEED), the Council of Energy Resource Tribes (CERT) and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) to help increase the number of American Indians and Alaska Natives who can effectively manage a tribe’s energy and natural resources.
“This internship program will offer an exciting opportunity for American Indians and Alaska Natives interested in the science and engineering professions, two fields where they are traditionally underrepresented,” Skibine said. “It will also help tribes by developing a cadre of professionals who have the training and expertise to aid them in managing the development of their energy and natural resources.”
Title V of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 requires the Secretary of the Interior to provide technical assistance to those Indian tribes seeking to develop their energy resources, establish an Indian energy resource development program and to further the goal of Indian self-determination. The internship program is one aspect of the IEED’s efforts to fulfill the act’s mandate.
The IEED will provide guidance and oversight for the program and funding for student recruitment. CERT, in coordination with ANL, will recruit interns from public, private and tribal institutions of higher learning. CERT also will seek to recruit tribes that are in various stages of energy development to provide mentors for the interns. It also will seek to match internship candidates with the pool of potential tribes and ANL research opportunities, and will work with ANL to identify strategic opportunities for internships based on current ANL programs and the availability of mentors at its facility.

“Tribes are being severely impacted by the inadequate number of available American Indian and Alaska Native energy resource professionals,” said CERT Executive Director A. David Lester. “We anticipate that the Native youth of today will play a critical role in Indian Country’s, and the nation’s, energy future as they inherit the responsibility for prudently managing tribal resources. Unless deliberate measures such as this internship program are undertaken to prepare them for such a role, however, we fear that many will be lost to other fields of work unrelated to their major fields of study.”
The program, which will be held annually, is slated to begin this summer and run for 10 weeks. Students will be housed at the ANL facility in DuPage County, Ill. Applicants will be considered based on whether they have the requisite skills to perform necessary tasks, if their needs will be met by the program and if they are interested in developing capabilities in sustainable energy programs.
“At this critical time, meeting the demand for energy from sustainable sources can only be achieved through investment in training programs such as the Energy Resource Development Tribal Internship Program,” said ANL’s Director of Educational Programs Harold Myron. “We are very excited to play a role in that effort by hosting interns from the program at Argonne.”
For more information about the Energy Resource Development Tribal Internship Program, contact the ANL Division of Educational Programs at 630-252-4114 or visit ANL’s website at http://www.dep.anl.gov and click on “Tribal Internships.” Information also can be found on CERT’s website at http://www.certredearth.com. The deadline for applications is April 3, 2009.
The Secretary of the Interior created the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development, which is located in the Office of the Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs, to encourage economic development in Indian Country. The IEED’s mission is to foster strong Indian communities by creating jobs, Indian-owned businesses and a trained workforce, by developing Indian energy and mineral resources, and by increasing access to capital. The IEED believes that thriving economies and opportunities for work are the best solutions to Indian Country’s economic and social challenges.

Offshore Renewable Energy

http://www.mms.gov/ooc/press/2009/press0210.htm

From the Mineral Management Service:

February 10, 2009

Secretary Salazar Details Strategy for Comprehensive Energy Plan on U.S. Outer Continental Shelf

WASHINGTON, D.C. –

Saying he needed to restore order to a broken process, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced his strategy for developing an offshore energy plan that includes both conventional and renewable resources. His strategy calls for extending the public comment period on a proposed 5-year plan for oil and gas development on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf by 180 days, assembling a detailed report from Interior agencies on conventional and renewable offshore energy resources, holding four regional conferences to review these findings, and expediting renewable energy rulemaking for the Outer Continental Shelf. “To establish an orderly process that allows us to make wise decisions based on sound information, we need to set aside the Bush Administration’s midnight timetable for its OCS drilling plan and create our own timeline,” Salazar said. On Friday, January 16, its last business day in office, the Bush Administration proposed a new five year plan for offshore oil and gas leasing. The proposal was actually published in the Federal Register on January 21, the day after the new Administration took office. The deadline for public comment that the Bush Administration established - March 23, 2009 – does not provide enough time for public review or for wise decisions on behalf of taxpayers, the Secretary said. “The additional time we are providing will give states, stakeholders, and affected communities the opportunity to provide input on the future of our offshore areas,” he said. “The additional time will allow us to restore an orderly process to our offshore energy planning.” Salazar said this evaluation of the proposed plan also needed better information about what resources may be available in the offshore areas. “In the biggest area that the Bush Administration’s draft OCS plan proposes for oil and gas drilling - the Atlantic seaboard, from Maine to Florida - our data on available resources is very thin, and what little we have is twenty to thirty years old,” he said. “We shouldn’t make decisions to sell off taxpayer resources based on old information.” Salazar directed the United States Geological Survey, the Minerals Management Service, and other departmental scientists to assemble all the information available about the offshore resources – conventional and renewable – along with information about potential impacts. The report is due in 45 days. Based on that report, the Department will then determine what areas need more information and create a plan for gathering that information. The Department of the Interior oversees more than 1.7 billion acres on the Outer Continental Shelf – an area roughly three fourths of the size of the entire United States. “To gather the best ideas for how we accomplish the task of gathering the offshore information we need, I will convene four regional meetings in the 30 days after MMS and USGS publish their report,” Salazar said. “I will host one meeting in Alaska, one on the Pacific Coast, one on the Atlantic Coast, and one on the Gulf Coast.” Salazar will ask all interested parties for their recommendations on how to move ahead with a comprehensive offshore energy plan. The Secretary also will build a framework for offshore renewable energy development, so that the Department can incorporate the significant potential for wind, wave, and ocean current energy into its offshore energy strategy. “The Bush Administration was so intent on opening new areas for oil and gas offshore that it torpedoed offshore renewable energy efforts,” Salazar said. As a senator, Salazar helped to craft and pass the Energy Policy Act of 2005 which required Interior to move quickly and issue, within 9 months, rules and regulations to guide the development of offshore energy resources, such as wind, wave, and tidal power. It took three years for the Bush Administration to prepare a proposed rule for offshore renewable energy development. They left office without putting any final regulations in place because it was not their priority, Salazar said, notwithstanding the requirement of the law. “I intend to issue a final rulemaking for offshore renewables in the coming months, so that potential developers know the rules of the road,” Salazar said. “This rulemaking will allow us to move from the ‘oil and gas only’ approach of the previous Administration to the comprehensive energy plan that we need.” “We need a new, comprehensive energy plan that takes us to the new energy frontier and secures our energy independence,” Salazar said. “We must embrace President Obama’s vision of energy independence for the sake of our national security, our economic security, and our environmental security.” By adding the 180 day extension to the original 60-day period, interested parties will have had a total of 240 days (8 months) to comment on the proposed plan. The current comment period opened on January 21, 2009.

Salazar Comments on Stimulus Plan

http://www.doi.gov/news/09_News_Releases/030509.html

From the Department of the Interior:

March 4, 2009

Secretary Salazar: Recovery Plan to Create Jobs, Stimulate Economic Activity in Indian Country

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Speaking to a summit of American Indian leaders, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today highlighted more than $2 billion in President Obama’s economic recovery package to create jobs and economic opportunity in Indian Country.

“The challenges we face as a nation are not new to Indian Country,” Salazar told a Tribal Nations Legislative Summit of the National Congress of American Indians. “But President Obama’s recovery package will provide significant investments in Indian Country which can play an important role in helping to stand-up tribal economies.”

Recovery funds to be distributed through the Department of the Interior include $450 million to fix and build roads, repair and construct schools, strengthen detention centers in Indian Country; and another $50 million for housing improvements, workforce training programs, and economic development loans.

Other non-Interior funding in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for Indian Country includes $510 million in Native American Housing Block Grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development; $310 million for roads, through the Federal Highway Administration; and $500 million for health information technology and facility construction and health services from the Department of Health and Human Services. Additional stimulus funding is included under the Department of Justice and other federal agencies.

Commenting on the recent Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar, the Secretary said he was “troubled” by the ruling that only Indian tribes that were formally recognized in 1934 could have land taken into trust for them by the Department of the Interior. Since the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act, Interior has added about eight million acres of land to the trust for various tribes, including some that were not federally recognized in 1934. Salazar pledged to continue the program while examining all options to resolve the land-into-trust issue raised by the court decision.

Later, Salazar spoke to the Council of Energy Resource Tribes summit on Native energy development. One of the greatest opportunities for economic development for tribes can be the development of alternative energy sources, Salazar said. Indian lands have major resources for renewable energy as well as rich sources of conventional fossil fuels.

“Indian country offers some of the premier wind energy sites in the United States,” the Secretary noted. “I look forward to exploring with tribes the potential for wind, geothermal, biomass and solar energy development that exists on those lands.”

The Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development has identified 77 reservations that possess commercial-scale wind resources and the ability to support viable wind-based economies. Forty of these are in states that enacted a Renewable Portfolio Standard requiring utilities to purchase a percentage of their power from renewable sources.

Budget Proposed for 2010

http://www.doi.gov/news/09_News_Releases/022609b.html

From the Department of the Interior

Feb. 26, 2009

President Recommends $12 Billion for Interior in Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Proposal

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The President’s 2010 Budget includes $12 billion for the Department of the Interior to undertake initiatives to promote energy security with a focus on clean renewable sources and strategies to address climate change, protect and preserve America’s national parks and public lands, strengthen Native American communities, enhance outdoor opportunities for young people, and conserve wetlands and wildlife habitat.

“President Obama has laid out a fiscally responsible blueprint for 2010,” Secretary Salazar said. “He has made tough choices, underscored his priorities and stressed the need for federal agencies to carry out their missions with transparency and accountability to the American taxpayer.”

Highlights of the proposed funding for Interior include the following:

• Invests more than $50 million to promote renewable energy projects on Federal lands and waters.
• Assists state and federal land management agencies with more than $130 million in additional funding to monitor, adaptively manage and assess the impacts of climate change on the Nation’s lands, fish and wildlife.
• Protects national parks with $100 million in additional funds to operate and maintain park facilities and resources and $25 million to leverage private donations for park projects.
• Conserves new federal and state lands and protects endangered species with appropriations of about $420 million from the Land and Water Conservation Fund for Interior and the U.S. Forest Service, with annual increases to reach full funding of $900 million by 2014.
• Creates educational and job opportunities for young people through expanded environmental education activities and new programs to encourage them to hunt and fish responsibly.
• Strengthens Native American communities through an increase of more than $100 million for enhanced law enforcement and education.
• Anticipates future costs for catastrophic wildfires with a new contingent funding reserve of $75 million for the Department of the Interior.
• Encourages responsible development of oil and gas resources and closes loopholes that have given oil companies excessive royalty relief for offshore leases.

More information on the President’s FY2010 Budget for the Department of the Interior is online at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/

New Round of Leases Offered

http://www.doi.gov/news/09_News_Releases/022509b.html

From the Department of the Interior

Feb. 25, 2009

Secretary Salazar to Offer a New Round of Oil Shale Research, Development and Demonstration Leases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of the Interior will offer a second round of research, development, and demonstration leases for oil shale in Colorado and Utah and withdraw the previous administration’s proposal for expanded RD&D leases, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced today.

“We need to push forward aggressively with research, development and demonstration of oil shale technologies to see if we can find a safe and economically viable way to unlock these resources on a commercial scale. The research, development, and demonstration leases we will offer can help answer critical questions about oil shale, including about the viability of emerging technologies on a commercial scale, how much water and power would be required, and what impact commercial development would have on land, water, wildlife, and communities.”

The Department has submitted a notice that will appear in the Federal Register on Friday, Feb. 27, 2009 that will ask industry, local communities, states, and stakeholders for their advice on what the terms and conditions of the second round of RD&D leases should be. That comment period will be open for 90 days.

“Following that, the Department will move ahead with a solicitation for RD&D leases, based on sound policy and public input,” Salazar said. “This will help us restore order to a process that, under the previous Administration, was turned upside down. We look forward to hearing from the public, industry, and local communities as we move toward offering a second round of research, development, and demonstration leases.”

Salazar said he was withdrawing the previous Administration’s solicitation on RD&D leases because it included several flaws, including locking in low royalty rates that would shortchange taxpayers. “The previous Administration offered their RD&D oil shale leases just days before leaving office, made the parcels four times the size of the current six RD&D leases, and then locked in low royalty rates and a premature regulatory framework for those leases,” the Secretary said. “If oil shale technology proves to be viable on a commercial scale, taxpayers should get a fair rate of return from their resource.”

As a U.S. Senator, Salazar helped author the provision in the 2005 Energy Policy Act that created the current RD&D leasing program, under which Interior’s Bureau of Land Management offered six 160 acre parcels for companies to do research and development of oil shale technologies.

Salazar Removes Wolves from Endangered Species List

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090307/ap_on_sc/gray_wolf_endangered_5

From Associated Press Writers – Sat Mar 7

Feds OK gray wolves' removal from endangered list

BILLINGS, Mont. – Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Friday he was upholding the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to remove gray wolves from the federal endangered list in the Northern Rockies and the western Great Lakes.

Wolves would remain a federally protected species in Wyoming because the state's law and management plans were not strong enough, he said. But management of the predator will be turned over to state agencies in Montana and Idaho and parts of Washington, Oregon and Utah, in addition to the Great Lakes states of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

The Obama administration had ordered a review of the decision made by the Bush administration shortly before departing. Salazar said he had concluded that dropping the wolf from the list was justified by its strong comeback in the two regions, which together have a population of nearly 5,600 wolves.

"The recovery of the gray wolf throughout significant portions of its historic range is one of the great success stories of the Endangered Species Act," he said in a conference call from Washington, D.C.

Wolves elsewhere in the Lower 48 states remain on the endangered list.

An influential lawmaker questioned the move and promised to investigate whether Salazar's decision is consistent with the Endangered Species act.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, the California Democrat who chairs the Environment and Public Works Committee, said her staff would gather information to determine whether the move met the "letter and the spirit" of the law.

Courts have overturned previous attempts to remove the wolf from the list, and future legal battles appear likely.

Environmental groups immediately pledged a lawsuit over the estimated 1,600 wolves in the Northern Rockies. A federal judge in Missoula, Mont., last year sided with the groups when they filed a lawsuit saying the animal's long-term survival remained at risk, particularly in Wyoming.

The government in January came back with its plan to leave out Wyoming.

"What we had hoped was the new administration would have taken a deep breath and evaluate the science," said Jamie Rappaport Clark, vice president of Defenders of Wildlife and a former Fish and Wildlife Service director under President Bill Clinton.

"Whether it's (Bush Interior Secretary Dirk) Kempthorne or Secretary Salazar, the concern remains the same," she added. "It's the same plan that I fear doesn't protect the wolf's long-term sustainability."

Wyoming's attorney general previously said his state probably would challenge the latest plan in court.

The Fish and Wildlife Service has been unable to agree on a protection plan with Wyoming, which had sought a "predator zone" covering almost 90 percent of the state where wolves could be shot on sight.

"The scientists at the Fish and Wildlife Service do not feel the recovery plan is adequate in Wyoming," Salazar said. He said his department would work with Wyoming to "come up with a joint way forward."

The northern Rocky Mountain wolf segment includes all of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, the eastern third of Washington and Oregon and a small part of north-central Utah.

Idaho and Montana already have crafted plans for public hunts to keep wolf populations in check. There are no immediate plans for hunts in the western Great Lakes, which has nearly 4,000 wolves.

Idaho Gov. C.L. Butch Otter on Friday repeated his desire to get the first available wolf hunting tag in the state so he can try to shoot one of the animals.

"The fish and game population is really counting on a robust population of trophy animals to maintain that part of our economy," he said.

Salazar withdraws oil lease

http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2009/02/23/daily46.html

From the Denver Business Journal:

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Interior’s Salazar withdraws oil lease offering

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is starting anew on a second round of oil shale leases for the development of technologies to mine crude oil locked in rocks under federal lands in western Colorado, Utah and Wyoming.

The U.S. Department of the Interior said Wednesday a notice will appear on Friday in the Federal Register asking industry, local communities, states and stakeholders for their advice on the terms and conditions that should be included in the second round of leases.

The comment period will be open for 90 days.

Salazar, formerly a U.S. senator from Colorado, said in a statement he decided to withdraw a lease offering done in the last days of President George W. Bush’s administration “because it included several flaws, including locking in low royalty rates that would shortchange taxpayers.

“The previous administration offered their RD&D [research, development and demonstration] oil shale leases just days before leaving office, made the parcels four times the size of the current six RD&D leases, and then locked in low royalty rates and a premature regulatory framework for those leases,” he said.

“If oil shale technology proves to be viable on a commercial scale, taxpayers should get a fair rate of return from their resource.”

The first round of leases for research and development were issued in 2005.

“I applaud Secretary Salazar’s commitment to take a more deliberate look at the Bush administration’s hasty decision to offer a second round of oil shale research development and demonstration leases," Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter said Wednesday in a statement.

“Well-designed research and development efforts are a necessary first step to the kind of thoughtful and deliberate approach that oil shale requires," Ritter added. "We welcome the opportunity to provide input on how RD&D leases can best answer questions about what the significant implications of commercial-scale oil shale development means to Colorado’s Western Slope communities.”

Salazar Begins Reform

http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2009/01/26/daily56.html

From the Denver Business Journal:

Friday, January 30, 2009

Salazar vows to clean up Minerals Management Service, Interior Department

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Thursday visited the Lakewood office of the scandal-rocked Minerals Management Service, which he now oversees.

Salazar, who until recently was a U.S. senator from Colorado, said Tom Strickland, his chief of staff, would lead a fresh probe of the conduct of some MMS employees as part of a review of Interior Department ethics rules.

Strickland is a former U.S. attorney for Colorado; Salazar is a former state attorney general.

“The American people ... have lost trust in the Department of the Interior, where ethical lapses and criminal behavior have extended to the highest levels,” Salazar told MMS employees at the Lakewood Federal Center, according to a transcript provided by his office.

“The former deputy secretary of this department went to prison,” Salazar said. “The public associates this department with Jack Abramoff. And the public knows of what happened here in Lakewood.”

MMS manages mineral resources on federal lands and collects royalties from mineral extraction. Last year it oversaw collection of $23 billion in mineral royalties.

Several local MMS employees were dismissed or punished in 2008 amid accusations that they took gifts from energy-industry executives, and that some used drugs or had sex with them. Critics of the agency called the scandal a sign that federal energy regulators have been too cozy with the industry they oversee.

In a separate scandal, former deputy Interior secretary Steven Griles was sentenced to prison in 2007 for obstruction of justice in the investigation of lobbyist Abramoff.

Salazar said he will consider restructuring MMS’s oil and gas royalty program.

“The president has made it clear that the type of ethical transgressions, blatant conflicts of interest, wastes and abuses that we have seen over the past eight years will no longer be tolerated,” Salazar told MMS employees. “The Department of the Interior will raise the bar for ethics, and we will set the standard for reform.”

Salazar Vows to "clean up the mess"

http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2009/01/12/daily51.html

From Denver Business Journal:

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Senate holds confirmation hearing for Interior nominee Salazar

The U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a hearing Thursday on the confirmation of U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., to be secretary of the Interior.

At the hearing, Salazar vowed to "clean up the mess"at the scandal-plagued agency and to reform the nation's mining laws.

If confirmed, Salazar will oversee the Bureau of Land Management, which administers vast acreage in Colorado, as well as the nation's national parks.

Salazar Becomes Secretary of Interior

http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2008/12/15/daily32.html

From Denver Business Journal:

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Salazar accepts Interior nomination

U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar on Wednesday accepted President-elect Barack Obama’s nomination to become the next secretary of the Department of the Interior.

Salazar is a Democrat who has represented Colorado in the Senate since 2005.

In accepting the nomination, Salazar said he “will do all I can to help reduce America’s dangerous dependence on foreign oil.”

He also said:

“I look forward to working directly with President-Elect Obama as an integral part of his team as we take the moon shot on energy independence.

“That energy imperative will create jobs here in America, protect our national security, and confront the dangers of global warming.

“I look forward to helping build our clean energy economy, modernize our interstate electrical grid, and ensure that we are making wise use of our conventional natural resources, including coal, oil, and natural gas.

“I look forward to protecting our national parks, public lands and open spaces, and America’s farm and ranchlands.

“I look forward to restoring our Nation’s rivers and working to resolve our water supply challenges.

“I look forward to helping to address the challenges faced by our Native American communities across the Nation.

“And I look forward to investing in America’s young people by implementing President-Elect Obama’s vision for youth programs across America.”

Obama had this to say about Salazar:

“Ken will bring to the Department of the Interior an abiding commitment to this land we love. His family has farmed and ranched the same land in Colorado for five generations. As a senator from the great state of Colorado, he has been a champion for farmers, ranchers, and rural communities -— from building a clean energy economy to setting aside 250,000 acres of Rocky Mountain National Park as wilderness.

“Before serving in the United States Senate, Ken was attorney general in Colorado, where he worked on a number of land, water, and environmental issues. As a water lawyer for a decade, Ken was also chosen to lead Colorado’s Department of Natural Resources. In that role, he promoted responsible water management, balanced use of our energy resources, and built one of the most successful land conservation efforts in the nation.

“Few are better equipped to meet the energy and natural resource challenges we face in the 21st century. Among the many responsibilities Ken will bear as our next secretary of the Interior is helping ensure that we finally live up to the treaty obligations that are owed to the First Americans. We need more than just a government-to-government relationship; we need a nation-to-nation relationship. And Ken and I will work together to make sure that tribal nations have a voice in this administration.”

Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter praised Obama's choice, and said he would "work thoughtfully, deliberately and quickly to identify a successor to Sen. Salazar. With the economy in crisis and many other important issues facing the next Congress and the new Obama administration, Colorado must have the best talent at the U.S. Capitol.”

Salazar Named Secretary of Interior

http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2008/12/15/daily18.html

From the Denver Business Journal:

Reactions to Ken Salazar Interior news

Congratulations are rolling in for U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, the presumptive nominee to become the nation’s next Interior secretary.

President-elect Barack Obama is expected to announce Salazar as his Interior choice later this week. Salazar would have to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, in which he has served since 2005. Salazar is a Democrat who previously served as Colorado’s attorney general.

Several organizations and people issued statements Tuesday offering Salazar their congratulations and praising Obama’s choice.

From Marc Smith, executive director of the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States: “Sen. Salazar will provide a strong Western voice and will play a pivotal role in meeting the administration’s goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing energy security,” said IPAMS Executive Director Marc Smith.

From U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter, a Democrat from Colorado: “Sen. Salazar has been a leader on land, water and energy issues throughout Colorado and the West for decades. He is a fantastic senator and he will be an outstanding Secretary of the Interior. I know he will help President-elect Obama’s Administration preserve our Western values on these important issues.”

From Harris Sherman, director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources: “Sen. Ken Salazar is uniquely qualified for this critical assignment. There is no better person in the nation to step into this position. He will bring needed balance, judgment and experience to the nation’s natural resource programs during these pivotal times. This is great for the West and the entire country.”

From U.S. Attorney Troy Eid, who represents the district of Colorado: “Sen. Ken Salazar is a friend who has served Colorado with great distinction -— and will keep doing so as Interior Secretary.”