President Bush has selected his nominee to head the Department of Interior, which manages about one-fifth of all the land in the United States and determines which portions of it should be available for resource extraction. As promised, he “looked to the West” and plucked Republican governor of Idaho and former Senator Dirk Kempthorne. The nominee is somewhat less controversial than others who were in the running for this position, and widely expected to be swiftly confirmed. But greens are hardly jumping for joy: Kempthorne is also widely expected to stay the course of the agency's industry-friendly policies under Bush.

Department of Interior Secretary Gale Norton jumped ship from the Bush Administration unexpectedly yesterday, saying in a March 9 resignation letter to the President, "it is time for me to leave this mountain you gave me to climb," and adding that she would be entering the private sector at the end of the month. The Department of Interior manages about one-fifth of the land in the U.S.