Obama’s Interior, Agriculture Appointees Will Put Land Use Policies On Right Path

President-elect Barack Obama has introduced more cabinet selections—Sen. Ken
Salazar (D-CO) as Secretary of the Interior and former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack as
Secretary of Agriculture.

In response, Larry Schweiger, president and
CEO of National Wildlife Federation,
said:

"Sen. Ken Salazar has been a champion for America's public lands.
He's fought to protect Western lands from costly, destructive oil shale
production. He also took on the Department of the Interior and Bureau of Land
Management over oil and gas leasing on the Roan Plateau in northwest Colorado.
And as a former water rights and mining lawyer and former director of Colorado's
Department of Natural Resources, Sen. Salazar brings an experienced perspective
to needed mining reform.

"Gov. Tom Vilsack has supported working to
improve the environmental performance of U.S. agriculture. We look forward to
working with him to move our country forward to the next generation of clean,
sustainable, biomass energy and improved farming practices that can store carbon
and restore the fertility of our soils.

"President-elect Obama has once
again shown he understands clean energy and climate must be addressed at every
level of government from a wide range of policy perspectives. With this team in
place, President-elect Obama has strong allies in his fight to enact a
cap-and-invest plan that reduces global warming pollution and grows clean energy
technologies that will recharge our economy and protect our natural resources
for future generations."

President-elect Obama has also introduced his
energy and environment team, naming Carol Browner to lead a new council on
climate, environment and energy issues; Steven Chu as energy secretary; Lisa
Jackson as EPA administrator; and Nancy Sutley as head of the White House
Council on Environmental Quality. In addition to this strong team, the
selection of Dr. John Holdren as White House science adviser is a strong
indication that the president-elect will fulfill a pledge to ensure science
informs policymaking.