Department of the Interior

Ken Salazar Confirmed As Secretary

Ken Salazar, a fifth-generation Coloradan who served as the state’s U.S. Senator, Attorney General and Director of Natural Resources, was confirmed yesterday by a unanimous vote in the U.S. Senate to become the 50th Secretary of the Interior.

“I am honored to have been chosen for this position and look forward to working with President Obama on our nation’s energy and natural resource challenges,” Salazar said. “I will be a strong and forceful advocate for the wise stewardship of our nation’s land and water resources, I will help us build a clean energy economy for the twenty-first century, and I will work to restore the integrity of the nation-to-nation relationship with our Native American communities.”

“My first priority at Interior is to lead the Department with openness in decision-making, high ethical standards and respect for scientific integrity,” Salazar emphasized. “I will work for a more proactive and balanced stewardship to protect our national parks and open spaces, restore our Nation’s rivers, resolve our water supply challenges and address the challenges faced by our Native American communities.”