Ryan Zinke and the environment: a tragedy in three acts

At first I kept an open mind about Trump's interior secretary. But it soon became clear he put the oil, gas and mining industry above our agency's missionBack in 2017, the staff at the interior department was not hoping for the best, we were hoping for the competent. A presidential transition can bring dramatic change to the leadership of a federal agency - particularly the agency that manages the conservation and use of one fifth of America's land area and the seabed of our continental shelf.Civil servants pledge to continue to serve the American people and the agency mission regardless of whether or not they agree with the political positioning of the president and his cabinet. So we watched the Ryan Zinke confirmation hearings carefully, listening for hints at his management style, his communications style, and his general understanding and respect for public lands and the mission of the agency. These were the qualities that mattered, not his ideology. We were hoping for competence. Continue reading...