WASHINGTON — President Bush said Thursday that he would nominate Gov. Dirk Kempthorne of Idaho to be secretary of the Interior, selecting a former senator -- and fellow mountain-bike rider -- to "ensure wise stewardship of our resources."
"Dirk will continue my administration's efforts to conserve our land, water and air resources, reduce the maintenance backlog of our national parks, support historic and cultural sites ... and develop the energy potential of federal lands and waters in environmentally sensitive ways," the president said in an Oval Office appearance with Kempthorne at his side.
If confirmed by the Senate, Kempthorne, 54, will replace Gale A. Norton, who resigned last week after more than five years as Interior secretary.
Kempthorne, who is in his eighth year as governor, would bring Washington political and policy experience to the post. He served six years in the Senate, where he was deeply involved in debates over natural resources, and led the Environment and Public Works Committee's subcommittee on drinking water, fisheries and wildlife.
As chairman of the Western Governors' Assn., Kempthorne took the lead in calling for changes in the Endangered Species Act. Like many governors in the West, he has pushed for greater state control over management of endangered species and for greater payments to landowners facing losses brought by the law's restrictions.
He also sued the Bush administration over a decision initially made by the Clinton administration to reintroduce grizzly bears into Idaho's Bitterroot mountain range. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposal won support in the immediate region, but Kempthorne's opposition led the Bush administration to withdraw the plan, according to statements from Interior Department officials at the time.
He fought the Clinton administration's decision protecting federal wilderness from road builders -- Idaho has 9.3 million acres of roadless forest -- and helped resolve one of the largest water rights claims in the West, involving the Nez Perce Indian tribe, the state and the federal government.
His nomination drew quick and sharp criticism from environmentalists.
Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club, said Kempthorne had "consistently opposed protecting public health and public lands."
The League of Conservation Voters gave him a rating of 6 (on a zero-to-100 scale, with 100 at the top) in his first year in the Senate and a zero each subsequent year.
