WASHINGTON - April 6 - The Wilderness Society today asked the Senate to use the nomination of Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne for Secretary of the Interior as an opportunity to review and address the defective public land management policies adopted and implemented by the Bush administration during the past five years. The request was made in a letter from Wilderness Society President William H. Meadows to Senators Pete Domenici (R, NM) and Jeff Bingaman (D, NM), the chairman and ranking member of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

“Following her confirmation in 2001, Secretary Norton implemented policies that repudiated the conservation and careful stewardship philosophy that guided her predecessor, and adopted policies that catered to those constituencies who wish to gain financially from the commercial exploitation of publicly owned resources,” writes Meadows. “Gov. Kempthorne, if confirmed, would be in a position to revisit and rectify these errant policies.”

The letter lays out eleven key environmental issues that have been steeped in controversy because of actions taken by Sec. Norton, including attempts to open the Arctic Refuge to oil and gas development, revise the National Park System’s management policies, and sell off BLM lands. For each issue, the Wilderness Society makes specific requests of Governor Kempthorne to change the administration’s existing policies.

The letter also asks Gov. Kempthorne to revoke Sec. Norton’s last minute, March 22 Secretarial Order that opened the door to new road development and damaging off-road vehicle use in National Parks, National Wildlife Refuges, National Monuments and other sensitive public lands under the repealed Revised Statute 2477.

“Our National Parks, National Wildlife Refuges, and Bureau of Land Management lands suffered greatly under Gale Norton’s tenure at the Department of the Interior,” said Meadows. “We call on the Senate to confirm Governor Kempthorne only if he commits to revisiting and rectifying these errant policies.”

A copy of the letter.

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