Obama names Interior, Agriculture heads

WASHINGTON -- As he announced his pick of Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., to head the Interior Department, President-elect Barack Obama on Wednesday didn't cloak the challenges ahead.

"Over the last eight years, we've had an Interior Department that has been deeply troubled," Obama said, adding that he wants a department that "very frankly, cleans up its act. There have been too many problems, too much emphasis on big-time lobbyists in Washington."

If confirmed, Salazar inherits an agency marred by scandal:

• The agency's inspector general reported Monday that political appointees had repeatedly quashed staff scientists' recommendations on endangered species. The result was "considerable harm … to the morale and reputation" of the department's Fish & Wildlife Service, wrote Interior Inspector General Earl Devaney.

• Interior Deputy Secretary J. Steven Griles served 10 months in federal prison for lying to Congress about access he gave to Jack Abramoff, a former lobbyist convicted of corruption charges. Griles was released in July.

• In a September report, the inspector general found extensive misconduct at Interior's Minerals Management Service, which manages revenue from oil and gas exploration on federal land. The report said officials regularly took gifts from companies with which they had business.

Obama introduced Salazar at a press conference in Chicago, where he also announced former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack as his choice for agriculture secretary. As governor, Vilsack promoted renewable energy and also advocated farm policies that protect the environment.

After a brief run for the presidential nomination, Vilsack withdrew his name in 2007 and endorsed Hillary Rodham Clinton. He later campaigned for Obama.

As Interior secretary, Salazar would take over an agency that manages 500 million acres — roughly 20% of land in the United States. Its portfolio includes national parks, endangered species and Native American tribes.

Salazar would also have to decide what to do about the dozen-plus endangered species whose fate, according to the inspector general, was improperly influenced by political appointees.