Secretary, Ken Salazar

Nominated by President Obama, Ken Salazar was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the 50th Secretary of the United States Department of the Interior on January 20th, 2009. Prior to his confirmation, Mr. Salazar served as an Attorney General and United States Senator for the State of Colorado.

As the Secretary of the Interior, Mr. Salazar is a member of President Obama’s Cabinet, overseeing the United States Department of the Interior, which manages most conservation and federal lands agencies; including the National Wildlife Refuge System, under the Fish and Wildlife Service; the National Park Service; the Bureau of Reclamation, and the Bureau of Land Management. The Interior Department is also responsible for overseeing the Bureau of Indian Affairs, as well as oil, gas, and mineral rights leases on federal land.

The Secretary of the Interior has authority over all Interior Department agencies, including the National Wildlife Refuge System and has the power to make final decisions on key issues. For example, Salazar is charged with ultimately deciding whether a proposed road through the Izembek NWR on the Alaskan peninsula is in the public interest and should be completed.

Deputy Secretary, David Hayes

As Deputy Secretary of the Interior, David Hayes is the second ranking official in the Interior Department and has authority over all Interior agencies, including the Refuge System. Hayes works closely with the Interior Secretary, particularly in areas of his expertise, which includes water management, endangered species, and federal land management.

Hayes has prior experience in the Interior Department, having fulfilled the same Deputy Secretary position under Secretary Bruce Babbitt during the Clinton Administration. Before being confirmed by the Senate for his current position, he worked closely with the Obama transition team, and was a fellow with the World Wildlife Fund.

Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, Tom Strickland

Tom Strickland was appointed by President Obama and confirmed as Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks by the Senate on March 12th, 2009. In this position he oversees and coordinates policy decisions for the National Park Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service. In addition to this, Strickland is also acting concurrently as the Chief of Staff to Secretary Salazar.

Prior to his appointment, Strickland served as a United States Attorney for the District of Colorado, and twice received the Democratic nomination to run for the Senate in Colorado. Strickland was also a board member of Great Outdoors Colorado, a lottery-funded program that invested over $600 million in parks, wildlife and open space programs in Colorado.

Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget, Rhea Suh

As Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget, Rhea Suh oversees the financial, administrative and programmatic policy for the Department of the Interior. This includes budget formulation, implementation and accountability. She also works closely with the Recovery Act Coordinator to oversee Interior Department stimulus projects, many of which are on wildlife refuges.

Suh has previous experience in conservation, acting as the program officer at The William and Flora Hewett Foundation, where she managed a portfolio of grants designed to protect the ecosystems of the western United States.

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, Will Shafroth

Will Shafroth was appointed by Secretary Salazar as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, where he will assist Tom Strickland in overseeing policy decisions for the Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service.

Shafroth has extensive experience in conservation, having served as the executive director of the nonprofit Colorado Conservation Trust and the Great Outdoors Colorado Trust Fund. He has also served on the boards of several wildlife and conservation groups, including the advisory board for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the boards of the Land Trust Alliance and Resources Legacy Fund.

Director of Alaska Affairs, Kim Elton

Kim Elton, a former Alaska State Senator representing Juneau, joined the Obama administration as the Interior Department Director of Alaska Affairs. Elton served as Juneau’s Senator from 1998 until taking his position at the interior department, and had held a position as a state representative prior to that.

In addition to his career in Alaska state politics, Elton has experience in commercial fishing and journalism. His previous government experience also included serving as a policy aide to former Alaska Lt. Governor Terry Miller, and worked on Alaska lands D-2 issues.

Special Assistant for Alaska Affairs, Pat Pourchot

Pat Pourchot is the appointee for the Anchorage based position of Special Assistant for Alaska Affairs in the Interior Department. Pourchot will work closely with the Department’s major Alaska based constituents and the Washington D.C. based Director of Alaska Affairs.

Pourchot has previous experience in the Interior department, as an outdoor recreation planner and working on environmental issues related to Alaska oil development in the Bureau of Land Management. Pourchot left a Senior Policy Representative position with Audubon Alaska to take his appointment in the Interior department.