Obama nominates Jewell as interior secretary

President Obama has nominated Sally Jewell, CEO of outdoor recreational equipment firm REI, as secretary of the Interior, to replace Ken Salazar, who announced in January that he would leave his position as Interior secretary after serving in the Obama administration for four years.

As Interior secretary Jewell will inherit a raft of difficult issues relating to government oil and gas development policies for federal lands in Alaska, including the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the federal outer continental shelf.

According to a statement from the White House Jewell has previously “worked in oil fields in Oklahoma and Colorado” and as an energy expert in banking.

And in announcing the nomination on Feb. 6, Obama said that Jewell is an expert on energy and climate issues.

“She is committed to building our nation-to-nation relationship with Indian Country,” Obama said. “She knows the link between conservation and good jobs. She knows that there’s no contradiction between being good stewards of the land and our economic progress; that in fact, those two things need to go hand in hand. She has shown that a company with more than $1 billion in sales can do the right thing for our planet.”

With Congress yet to approve the Jewell nomination, Alaska’s U.S. senators expressed interest in learning more about the president’s nominee.

“So many of the decisions made by the Interior secretary have a profound impact on Alaska, and other western states,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski. “I look forward to hearing about the qualifications Ms. Jewell has that make her a suitable candidate to run such an important agency, and how she plans to restore balance to the Interior Department.”

“While I am pleased the president moved quickly to fill this critical post, I think there is more we need to learn about Sally Jewell and what this decision means for Alaska,” said Sen. Mark Begich. “The Department of Interior has enormous influence over Alaska’s land, resources and its relationship with our state’s First Peoples.”

—Alan Bailey