Burton replaces Watson in Interior post

Rebecca Watson is stepping down as the Interior Department’s assistant secretary for land and minerals as the agency deals with continued pressure to develop oil and natural gas in the United States.

“This job is a very high-pressure, demanding job,” said Watson, a former Helena, Mont., attorney. “It’s time for me to let someone else bring their perspective.”

Watson, who has held the job since January 2002, has taken a position with a Denver law firm.

Johnnie Burton, former director of the Wyoming Department of Revenue, was named the acting assistant secretary on Oct. 27.

Watson said as long as the prices and demand for natural gas remain high, the push will continue to drill in the Rocky Mountains.

The Bureau of Land Management, which Watson oversaw at Interior, expects the number of oil and gas drilling permits to increase by 32 percent from 2004 to 2006.

The Bush administration and Interior have searched for ways to expedite permits but were criticized for being too eager to drill and not sufficiently concerned about environmental protections.

Watson: push from growth

“That push comes not from BLM and not from energy companies. It’s coming from all of us in America,” she said. Watson was in Montana a year ago to announce plans to postpone a study on proposals to drill along the Rocky Mountain Front, a decision that pleased conservationists but disappointed others hoping the drilling would provide jobs in western Montana.

“I got some bouquets and I got some brickbats for that,” Watson said. “I think it was the right decision to make.”

Aside from offshore drilling, the Rocky Mountains remain the best place to tap into energy resources, she said.

“For the next five to 10 years, there will be interest in the natural gas supplies in the Rockies,” Watson said.

While coal and natural gas play a key role in meeting the nation’s energy demands, supplies will have to be diversified in the future, Watson said.

—The Associated Press