Many hope new Interior Secretary will balance conservation and energy development
Denver—Sally Jewell, President Obama’s nominee for Interior Secretary, is uniquely qualified to resolve the mounting conservation deficit created amidst the fervor for oil and gas development during the Obama Administration’s first term. Jewell, currently Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of outdoor retail powerhouse REI, has a resume and pedigree that suggests she can strike the right balance between conservation and oil and gas drilling on federal lands.
“Sally Jewell’s confirmation hearing is the starting point for a conversation about our nation’s rich tradition of conservation and a balanced approach to public lands,” said Center for Western Priorities’ spokesman Trevor Kincaid. “Ms. Jewell has the potential to find equal ground between development and conservation, but time is short to see if she will.”
During President Obama’s first term, his Administration and Congress leased nearly three times more land for oil and gas development than was permanently protected.
In February, Clinton-era Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt called on the Administration to put conservation and development on “equal ground” by adopting a 1:1 approach to land use, protecting an acre of land for every acre leased for drilling.