New interior secretary brings 'passion for the issues'

WASHINGTON — Newly sworn-in Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne may have less time now to ride his Harley Davidson motorcycle or go camping with his Dachshund Truman, but he brings a "passion for the issues" that come with managing millions of acres of federal land.

In his first official act as secretary Thursday, Kempthorne designated two trails in Utah as part of 36 new National Recreation Trails.

The Gooseberry Mesa Trail is a 13.5 mile loop in Washington County known for mountain biking and the Historic Union Pacific Rail Trail is a 28-mile "rail trail" for bikes that goes through the Wasatch Mountains near Park City.

The former Idaho governor started his new job Tuesday and will be meeting with the Interior Department's top officials in the next two weeks to create the "road map" he will use to guide the department through the remaining two years of the Bush administration.

"I'm going to keep my eye on the future," he said.

He sees himself as the "relief pitcher" saying that "Bush called my number from the bull pen" to replace former Interior Secretary Gale Norton, who resigned in March. While there may not be a lot of room for warm-up balls, he said, there is "ample time" to still make changes.

"I think it's premature, my first week, to define my legacy," Kempthorne said.

Kempthorne said he is interested in reforming the Endangered Species Act, something he worked on when he represented Idaho in the U.S. Senate, prior to his seven years as governor.

"I really believe that we make improvements to the act itself," he said. "I believe that there should be greater emphasis on recovery. I am not content to simply have a system that lists a species and then moves on."

Kempthorne, is enthusiastic about his new position. Although Idaho no longer has term limits for its governor, some were in place when he was elected that he agreed to follow, so he was on his way out. He did not seek the position but answered President Bush's call to be nominated.

While the job comes with an amazing view of the Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial from his sixth-floor office balcony at the Interior Department — something he he hopes his father, who turns 90 during the July Fourth fireworks will enjoy — Kempthorne's name replaces Norton on at least 3,000 federal lawsuits on everything from billions of dollars owed to Native American tribes to land issues.

His first briefing as secretary involved ethics rules.