Bush nominates Idaho governor for Interior post

Utahns responded to President Bush's nomination of the next secretary of the interior with such widely differing viewpoints that it's hard to believe they're all talking about the same person, Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne.

The president nominated Kempthorne late Thursday, saying he "is the right man" to build on progress by the previous secretary, Gale Norton, who resigned March 10.

"As secretary of the interior, 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 through our Preserve America Initiative, and develop the energy potential of federal lands and waters in environmentally sensitive ways," Bush said in remarks posted on the White House Web site.

In Utah, environmentalists were displeased or neutral. But Republican political leaders, a cattlemen's association, a four-wheel-drive advocate and a rural county commissioner gave Kempthorne strong endorsements.

"Utah has more than our fair share of public lands, and having a good interior secretary is vital to our state," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. "Dirk understands the needs of local communities that are so heavily affected by these public lands."

Hatch called Kempthorne, 54, "a fair, intelligent manager" who, if confirmed by the Senate, will "fight to protect our lands and promote wise use of our resources."

"We're excited the president chose someone from the West," said Brent Tanner, executive vice president of the Utah Cattlemen's Association, based in Salt Lake City.

"Obviously, the majority of the lands that he will be overseeing as the new Department of Interior secretary are in the West." The group feels strongly that Kempthorne is "someone who is familiar with those lands."

Support also came from Kane County Commissioner Mark Habbeshaw, Kanab: "I've heard good things about Gov. Kempthorne, and so I'm pretty enthused about his proposed nomination.

Marc Heileson, the Sierra Club's southwest regional representative in Salt Lake City, charged that the Bush administration is again "showing it has little concern for the protection of our environment."

Kempthorne has repeatedly suggested opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, he said. He was a leader in the opposition to a plan to protect 60 million acres, "our last remaining wild forests," he said. Kempthorne advocated weakening the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act, Heileson added.

Rep. Chris Cannon , R-Utah, called Kempthorne a "good choice."