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Governor Kempthorne is a poor choice to head Department of Interior
 Earthjustice, along with more than one hundred environmental groups across the country, is opposing former Senator and current Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne’s nomination to be the next Secretary of the Interior.
In recent years, the Interior Department has served more as a vehicle for the commercial exploitation of the public’s resources than as an agent for preserving and protecting them. Kempthorne’s abysmal environmental voting record as a member of the Senate does not suggest that he would do anything to turn the department around. Governor Kempthorne has repeatedly favored industry and commercial interests above the those of the American public.
Our nation’s public lands and natural resources deserve better! Please take action by asking your senators to oppose Dirk Kempthorne’s nomination today! Personalized letters are by far the most compelling ... please take a moment to tell your senators what you think.
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| Sample Letter for Campaign |
Subject: Please Oppose Dirk Kempthorne
Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,
I am writing to urge you to oppose Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne's nomination to be the next Secretary of the Interior.
In recent years, the Department of the Interior has served more as a vehicle for the commercial exploitation of the public's resources than as an agent for protecting them. I believe that Governor Kempthorne's abysmal environmental voting record in the Senate, with a lifetime score of only one percent, does not suggest that he would do anything to turn this department around.
Governor Kempthorne is a long-time, fervent supporter of oil drilling in pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He has spent much of his political career trying to weaken the Endangered Species Act. Under his watch, Idaho's environmental services budget was cut three times, and water quality standards were weakened. Governor Kempthorne has also led the charge to strip protections from our nation's last wild roadless forests.
The Secretary of the Interior oversees the management of more than 500 million acres of publicly owned lands, as well as our nation's fish and wildlife, water, and mineral resources. Based on the record of the Bush administration at Interior, as well as Governor Kempthorne's own record, I believe that he is a poor choice to take over this critical leadership position.
Thank you for considering my views.
Sincerely,
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Campaign Launched:
May 11, 2006
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| Dirk Kempthorne received more money from the timber, mining, and energy industries than any other western gubernatorial candidate. |
On March 16, 2006, President Bush picked Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne to replace outgoing Secretary Gale Norton as the new Secretary of the Interior. The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a hearing Thursday, May 4, 2006, and the committee approved his nomination on May 10, 2006. Kempthorne's nomination will now go before the full Senate for consideration.
The Secretary of the Interior oversees the management of more than 500 million acres of publicly owned lands -- including our national parks, monuments, wilderness areas, wildlife refuges, rangelands, and coastal areas. The secretary is also responsible for fish and wildlife conservation and the conservation of our nation’s water and mineral resources. These wide-ranging responsibilities make this a critically important position for the protection of our environment.
In recent years, the Department of the Interior has served more as a vehicle for the commercial exploitation of the public’s resources than as an agent for preserving and protecting them. The Bush administration and department leadership have consistently undermined the preservation and protection of our public lands, water, and wildlife to cater to the desires of the oil, mining, and timber industries. The Department has also been pushing for development of national treasures that Americans want protected, such as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
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| Kempthorne twice voted to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge |
Industry insiders employed by the Bush administration have fought for policies favoring the industries from which they came and to which many of them have returned. In addition, political appointees to the department have frequently distorted, suppressed, and manipulated science on issues ranging from endangered species to land management. As a result, policy makers have not had access to the best and most independent science when making policy decisions on crucial environmental and resource management issues.
The Interior Secretary’s proper role is to be a steward of our nation’s resources, not an advocate for the oil, mining, timber, and other extractive industries. After reviewing Mr. Kempthorne’s record as Idaho’s governor and as a former senator, we believe he would continue to promote the unbalanced approach we have seen at the department under the Bush administration to date, and must oppose his nomination.
General background
Dirk Kempthorne graduated from the University of Idaho in 1975, and worked as a public affairs manager for the chemical company FMC Corporation, which manufactures insecticides and chemicals. Kempthorne then served as executive vice president of the Idaho Homebuilders Association before being elected mayor of Boise in 1986. He went on to serve one term in the U.S. Senate before being elected to his current office as Idaho’s governor in 1998. Learn more about Kempthorne’s background here.
A bleak environmental record
- In 2001, Governor Kempthorne was on the verge of asking EPA to leave the state of Idaho over a disagreement with the agency over a Superfund site. He negotiated a partnership between the state and the mining industry to remove the Superfund designation, but due to the high levels of lead that persist in the site, EPA did not agree to relinquish its commitment to the project.
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| Kempthorne has been very active in supporting the Bush administration’s efforts to repeal the 2001 Roadless Conservation Rule | With Governor Kempthorne at the helm, the state of Idaho sued the federal government to block implementation of the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule.
- Governor Kempthorne asked EPA to allow Idaho mining companies and municipalities to discharge twice the amount of zinc and up to ten times more lead into waters than the federal water quality standards allow. He called this exception to the national rule “a common sense approach to protecting water quality.”
- As senator, Kempthorne’s lifetime score from the League of Conservation Voters was one percent -- which represents one pro-environmental vote out of 70 over his six years in the Senate.
- Kempthorne twice voted to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, voted to gut the ESA listing budget (1996), voted to eliminate ESA recovery for the red wolf, voted against protecting California’s desert habitat (1994), voted against protecting wetlands (1993), and consistently voted to sell off public lands (1995, 1996, 1998).
- In 1997, Kempthorne sponsored a bill (S. 1180) that would have drastically undermined protections and recovery of endangered species. Specifically, the bill would have exempted recovery implementation plans from judicial review, leaving them entirely at the whim of political appointees and undermining scientific scrutiny or a recovery standard.
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| Kempthorne has worked to undermine protection for endangered species |
The nomination of Governor Kempthorne as Secretary of Interior indicates this administration’s strong intention to continue the disastrous policies implemented under Secretary of Interior Norton. Governor Kempthorne is a poor choice to head the department that oversees our nation’s natural resources.
Please ask your senators to oppose this nomination today!
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