Cannon added that the Idaho governor "understands the complexity of the issues he will face, and he has the ability to find the balance between preservation and development of our national resources and to move America in the right direction."

Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, said he is glad a Westerner will take over the post.

"There are still plenty of things that the department could be doing better for the West," he added. Those include payment of in-lieu taxes and land issues. "We will continue to fight to be treated fairly," he said.

"Kempthorne is a good man," said Rainer Huck, president of the Utah Shared Access Alliance, which represents recreationists, including off-road vehicle users.

He hopes Kempthorne will be more aggressive in "reversing some of the abusive Babbitt (former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt) policies, so that we can get some balance in our public land management restored."

Scott Groene, executive director of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, said the group hopes "that he'd be willing to break from the Bush administration's priorities on oil and gas drilling that have threatened the Westerners' way of life."

The Utah Rivers Council wasn't impressed with the president's choice.

"The bottom line is that the Utah Rivers Council is not sure that any of the candidates floated by this administration could really provide the kind of visionary leadership needed to change the way we think about water in the West," said Merritt Frey, the council's executive director.

"It is hard to really imagine that Gov. Kempthorne can provide that kind of vision and leadership," she added.

Frey said she thinks the nomination will continue the Bush administration's "focus on short-term exploitation of rivers, rather than long-term solutions to our problems."

Bush said Kempthorne has served as mayor of Boise and governor of Idaho and as a U.S. senator. In the Senate he chaired the subcommittee on Drinking Water, Fisheries and Wildlife, and was chairman of the Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee, he said.

"Dirk understands those who live closest to the land know how to manage it best," said Bush, quoted on the Internet site, "and he will work closely with state and local leaders to ensure wise stewardship of our resources."

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