Gov. Herbert Open to Diverse Views on the Environment
Washington ยป Utah Gov. Gary Herbert pulled together various sides in public-lands disputes when he recently created his Balanced Resource Council, and now he is attracting the attention of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.
Herbert says Salazar has requested to meet with the council, which includes liberals and conservatives who have been on opposite sides over public-lands use.
The council is led by former Salt Lake City Mayor Ted Wilson, a Democrat, but also includes two former Bureau of Land Management directors and state Rep. Mike Noel, a Republican who has fought for more access to federal lands.
Governor Herbert’s appointment of Ted Wilson, a prominent Utah Democrat, to lead the panel was a noteworthy effort for bipartisanship and will assure an objective and thorough discussion of the issues. It is in the mold being exhibited at the national level by President Obama and Governor Herbert is to be commended for assuring that diversity of opinion will be heard. It gives the panel much greater credibility than it would otherwise have.
Herbert said after a meeting with Salazar this week that the secretary was interested to see how the council would work and wanted to meet with its members.
“He liked the idea of what we’re doing there,” Herbert said, “and I think what he’d like to do is sit down with them and have this continuing dialogue here, which was great.”
Kendra Barkoff, a spokeswoman for the Interior Department, said Salazar and Herbert had a productive meeting Tuesday and discussed public-lands management and conservation. She added that the secretary hopes to visit Utah again soon but gave no specifics of whether a meeting would be set up with the Balanced Resource Council.
Herbert, who opposed Salazar’s decision earlier this year to pull back 77 leases for oil and gas development on federal lands, said the meeting between the two was fruitful and that both officials vowed to work together on land issues.
“He wasn’t just like, ‘Thanks for stopping by.’ ” Herbert said of the meeting. “It was, ‘Hey, I liked that you reached out a hand and I’m going to reach a hand back and see if we can’t work together.’ ”
