Bad choice for Interior.

Byline: The Register-Guard

On its Web site, the U.S. Department of the Interior describes its mission as the "nation's principal conservation agency":

"The U.S. Department of the Interior has responsibility for most of our nationally owned public lands and natural resources. The department's responsibilities include fostering the wisest use of our land and water resources, protecting our fish and wildlife, and preserving the environmental and cultural values of our national parks."

Based on his nomination Thursday of Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne to be his new Interior secretary, one has to wonder if President Bush has ever read this statement. But then, he obviously didn't read it before appointing current Interior chief Gale Norton, who has dedicated her five-year tenure to opening public lands throughout the West to the energy, mining and timber industries.

Kempthorne is a polished former U.S. senator, and former senators, polished or no, tend to win confirmation in the Senate. Yet lawmakers should reflect carefully on Kemp- thorne's patently anti-environment record before casting their votes.

The secretary of the Interior oversees a $10 billion agency that controls 450 million acres - roughly a fifth of the country, and most of it in the West - and supervises federal wildlife protections. Bush's choice for this critical post is a pal and fellow mountain biker who has a lifetime voting score of nearly zero from the League of Conservation Voters - and who routinely received top rankings from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Why is Kempthorne such a poor choice? Let us count just a few of the reasons:

As a senator and governor, Kempthorne fought to roll back national forest protections. He fiercely opposed President Clinton's roadless initiative, which blocked logging, mining and development on nearly 60 million acres of undisturbed federal forest lands and had broad public support.

As a senator, Kempthorne introduced legislation to weaken the Endangered Species Act. His bill would have eliminated the current requirement that federal agencies consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service about decisions that could harm endangered or threatened species. As Interior chief, Kempthorne would oversee - you guessed it - the Fish and Wildlife Service.

As Interior chief, Kempthorne would oversee mining operations on public lands. His record indicates an unwillingness to take the hard-line enforcement role that job requires. For example, Governor Kempthorne once warned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that its plans to list some polluted mines as a Superfund site might prompt him to evict the federal agency from his state. As a senator, he introduced a bill seeking to release mining companies from environmental cleanup respon- sibilities.

The most positive thing that can be said of Kempthorne's candidacy is that he understands issues critical to Western states such as Oregon. The problem is that his approach to those issues invariably serves the interests of big business and not those of the land, water and wildlife resources an Interior secretary is supposed to protect.