Editorial: Chalk one up for industry

Sunday, March 19, 2006 | 7:24 a.m.

One look at Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne's environmental record is all it takes to know why President Bush has nominated the former U.S. senator and Boise mayor to be the nation's next interior secretary.

Of course, Bush said Kempthorne was chosen to succeed Gale Norton because he would help "develop the energy potential of federal lands and waters in environmentally sensitive ways" - as if Bush has exhibited any knowledge of environmentally sensitive ways to manage the nation's natural assets.

A more probable reason for the choice is that Kempthorne - if confirmed by the Senate as expected - isn't likely to stray from the Bush administration's industry-friendly stances on environmental issues.

Kempthorne, a Republican, was elected mayor of Boise in 1986 and was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1992 before becoming Idaho's governor in 1997. As interior secretary, he would play a key role in, among other things, developing federal policy on such issues as expanding oil- and gas-drilling both offshore and on public lands. We can suspect whose interests will prevail.

Just two days before Bush took office in January 2001, Kempthorne sued to block a Clinton administration plan that called for reintroducing grizzly bears to Idaho's Bitterroot Range over a five-year period. The proposal eventually was withdrawn. Kempthorne also sued the U.S. Forest Service in 2001 over a Clinton-backed rule that barred development in roadless areas of national forests. Bush later overturned the rule.

And in 2005, Kempthorne pursuaded the federal government to make Idaho the first state to manage endangered gray wolves under a new U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rule that grants increased flexibility for private landowners to kill wolves they believe have harassed pets or livestock. As a senator, Kempthorne opposed renewal of the Endangered Species Act.

The League of Conservation Voters, a nonpartisan, nonprofit group, offered the most succinct response: "During his career in Congress, Gov. Kempthorne earned a paltry 1 percent lifetime LCV score. Enough said."

Perhaps even more telling than the criticisms were the accolades - many of which came from the energy development industry. According to Bloomberg News, a spokesman for the Independent Petroleum Association said that as a senator Kempthorne "demonstrated a good understanding of energy issues." As proof, the spokesman offered Kempthorne's efforts to cut Endangered Species Act regulations and enact changes that the petroleum industry advocated.

Norton's resignation wasn't expected to open the door to a more environmentally responsible Interior Department philosophy. And Bush's nomination of Kempthorne shows, with all certainty, that it didn't.