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94–024 PDF 2015

S. HRG. 111–1182 

HEARING ON THE NOMINATION OF 

THOMAS L. STRICKLAND TO BE 

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR FISH AND WILDLIFE 

AND PARKS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE 

INTERIOR 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON 

ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS 

FIRST SESSION 

MARCH 26, 2009 

Printed for the use of the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

( 

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys 
(II) 

COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS 

ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS 

FIRST SESSION 

BARBARA BOXER, California, Chairman 

MAX BAUCUS, Montana 

THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware 

FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, New Jersey 

BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland 

BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont 

AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota 

SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island 

TOM UDALL, New Mexico 

JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon 

KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND, New York 

ARLEN SPECTER, Pennsylvania 

JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma 

GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio 

DAVID VITTER, Louisiana 

JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming 

MIKE CRAPO, Idaho 

CHRISTOPHER S. BOND, Missouri 

LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee 

BETTINA POIRIER, Staff Director 

RUTH VAN MARK, Minority Staff Director 
(III) 

C O N T E N T S 

Page 

MARCH 26, 2009 

OPENING STATEMENTS 

Boxer, Hon. Barbara, U.S. Senator from the State of California ........................ 1 

Inhofe, Hon. James M., U.S. Senator from the State of Oklahoma .................... 2 

Udall, Hon. Mark, U.S. Senator from the State of Colorado ............................... 4 

Bennet, Hon. Michael F., U.S. Senator from the State of Colorado .................... 5 

Lautenberg, Hon. Frank R., U.S. Senator from the State of New Jersey ........... 40 

Cardin, Hon. Benjamin L., U.S. Senator from the State of Maryland, prepared 

statement .............................................................................................................. 50 

Bond, Hon. Christopher S., U.S. Senator from the State of Missouri, prepared 

statement .............................................................................................................. 51 

WITNESS 

Strickland, Thomas L., nominated to be Assistant Secretary of Fish and 

Wildlife and Parks of the Department of the Interior ...................................... 6 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 9 

Responses to additional questions from: 

Senator Lautenberg ................................................................................... 13 

Senator Whitehouse .................................................................................. 16 

Senator Inhofe ........................................................................................... 18 

Senator Voinovich ..................................................................................... 31 

Response to an additional question from Senator Bond ............................... 37 

(1) 

HEARING ON THE NOMINATION OF THOMAS 

L. STRICKLAND TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR FISH AND WILDLIFE AND 

PARKS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2009 

U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS, Washington, DC. 

The full committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 a.m. in room 

406, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Barbara Boxer (chairman of the Committee) presiding. 

Present: Senators Boxer, Inhofe, Lautenberg, Cardin, Carper, 

Klobuchar, and Udall. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. BARBARA BOXER, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA 

Senator BOXER. The Committee will come to order. 

It looks like we are going to be able to move quickly through this. 

Today, we have before us the nomination of Thomas Strickland to 

be Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish, Wildlife and Parks. 

I want to say congratulations, Mr. Strickland, on this nomination. I know we all agree that we live in a Nation blessed with 

spectacular public lands and a rich array of wildlife, and I am so 

pleased to see someone so strongly committed to protecting these 

resources under consideration for this very key position. 

If you are confirmed, you will oversee the protection of these 

treasures, including some of my State’s most important wildlife refuges, one in San Francisco Bay, another in San Diego. There are 

many others. 

You will also be responsible for many more special places, including the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Point Reyes, and 

Yosemite National Park. I am just naming just a tiny number. 

By the way, with this public lands bill on the way to the President and I hope he will be signing it on Monday or so, we have another 770,000 acres in California under wilderness designation. 

This was done with my Republican colleagues in the House. 

So I think your job is really one to be envied because to have a 

chance to protect all this I consider God’s gift to us is a great responsibility and it is a great opportunity. 

The Fish and Wildlife Service has gone through quite a difficult 

time. Many of us believe, not all of us believe this, but I believe 

that conservation laws have been undercut and public lands have 
2 

deteriorated, and in many cases the scientists were not able to 

speak. 

The Interior Department’s Inspector General found political interference by the then-Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and 

Wildlife. The IG stated that ‘‘she caused,’’ and this is the IG speaking not me, ‘‘considerable harm to the integrity of the ESA program 

and to the morale and the reputation of the Fish and Wildlife Service.’’ 

Now, this gives you a real opportunity to lead that agency, and 

to talk about what is right, what is wrong. And we all want science 

to prevail. That is essential. Well, the good news is that this month 

on the Interior Department’s 160th anniversary, President Obama 

committed to restore scientific integrity, and he said, ‘‘By being 

open and honest with the American people about the science behind our decisions, that is how we will harness the power of science 

to achieve our goals to preserve our environment.’’ 

So I think the President has basically said science must be front 

and center. And I look forward to hearing from you as to how you 

will fulfill this commitment to put the science first. 

One of the critical issues the Fish and Wildlife Service will also 

face is the impact of climate change on habitat. The world’s leading 

panelists have found that up to 40 percent of the planet’s species 

are at risk of extinction from global warming. 

Another issue that needs your attention is the severe maintenance backlog at our national wildlife refuges. Over 300 Fish and 

Wildlife Service positions have been eliminated since 2004, 300 positions. Funding shortfalls have limited public access. They have 

reduced law enforcement. They have threatened the wildlife in the 

system. 

Recent funding in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 

will help to address immediate needs at our refuges, but a longterm solution is needed. 

I look forward to hearing from you today on these issues and 

about your plans for revitalizing the Fish and Wildlife Service. 

And again, I just want to say that I have the privilege of knowing Tom Strickland. I think he is a man of great integrity, and I 

know he is going to well with both sides of the aisle. 

With that, I turn to my Ranking Member, the esteemed Ranking 

Member, Jim Inhofe, and after his statement, at that time, we will 

go to the introduction. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JAMES M. INHOFE, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA 

Senator INHOFE. Thank you, Madam Chairman. 

And also, Mr. Strickland, thank you for spending some time with 

me and I look forward to working with you. 

Unfortunately, simultaneously with this, we have an Armed 

Services Committee hearing, so I have to go back and forth and 

won’t be here for a lot of the time. 

The Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks at the 

Department of Interior is responsible for overseeing a lot of important programs. You and I talked about these programs, and many 

of these are very significant. 
3 

I am troubled by the Service’s recent congressional mandate to 

revise and reissue ESA rules concerning the listing of the polar 

bear and modifications to the Section 7 consultation process. My 

concern is not that reasonable minds disagree about whether these 

are good rules or about the Department’s authority to properly revisit the rules. Rather, I am concerned that Congress has given the 

Services the unusual authority to waive all requirements for public 

input and allowances for legal objections under the Administrative 

Procedures Act, while dictating that these rules be revised within 

what is now less than 60 days. 

These are some of the concerns I have. And Madam Chairman, 

I would like to put the entire opening statement in the record. 

What I would like to do, I am going to try to be here during question and answer time, but should I not, in your opening statement 

the commitment I would ask of you, Mr. Strickland, is that you 

make the commitment that you and your staff will treat the minority requests to your office with the same level of attention that you 

would the majority requests. I know you told me individually. I 

wanted to get this on the record, and if you would make that statement perhaps in your opening remarks. 

What I am going to try to do is get back here, Madam Chairman, 

in time for questions. All right? 

Senator BOXER. Yes, absolutely. 

Senator INHOFE. Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Senator Inhofe follows:] 

STATEMENT OF HON. JAMES M. INHOFE, U.S. SENATOR

FROM THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA

Good morning. We are here today to consider the nomination of Thomas Strickland for Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks at the Department of 

Interior. 

The Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks at the Department of Interior is responsible for overseeing many important programs at the Department. 

Most notable to this Committee is the management of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Services and the implementation of the Endangered Species Act. 

Mr. Strickland, I am very troubled by the Service’s recent congressional mandate 

to revise and reissue ESA rules concerning the listing of the polar bear and modifications to the section 7 consultation process. My concern is not that reasonable 

minds disagree about whether these are good rules or about the Department’s authority to properly revisit the rules. Rather, I am appalled that Congress has given 

the Services the unusual authority to waive all requirements for public input and 

allowances for legal objections under the Administrative Procedures Act while dictating that these rules be revised within what is now less than 60 days. 

Given the majority’s constant complaints to the last Administration about the lack 

of process, it is at the very least ironic they would be so bold as to willfully set aside 

rules protecting public input and transparency. Should you be confirmed, I strongly 

urge you to use your authority to ensure that guarantees of public process in the 

APA are followed when revising the polar bear and consultation rules. Anything less 

will be taken as an abdication of this Administration’s commitment to transparency 

and integrity. More importantly, it will certainly start you off on the wrong foot with 

the Republicans on this Committee. 

Aside from the controversies associated with ESA, the Fish and Wildlife Service 

does a great deal of good. One of the programs I am particularly interested in is 

the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, which conserves habitat by leveraging 

Federal funds through voluntary private landowner participation. I look forward to 

working with you on this and other issues. 

I am anxious to hearing your perspectives on the issues that will be raised today. 

Most importantly, I welcome you to the Committee. 

I am sorry that Jon Cannon is not here today. I was surprised to learn about his 

decision to remove his name from consideration to be Deputy Administrator of the 

Environmental Protection Agency. As part of the oversight process, my staff met 
4 

with Mr. Cannon and questioned him about grants received by a foundation on 

which he was a board member. My staff made it clear that though the organization 

committed serious missteps in managing Federal grants, it did not warrant opposition to Mr. Cannon’s nomination. I have long made EPA grant oversight a priority, 

and I am looking forward to working with the next nominee to be Deputy Administrator. 

Senator BOXER. We are not going to have any more opening 

statements except that Senator Carper wanted to give a welcome. 

Senator CARPER. Mr. Strickland, welcome. I think I have seen 

you before. It is nice to see you here today, especially sitting with 

Mark Udall. We are delighted you are here, and appreciate your 

willingness to take this on. 

Thank you. I will have more to say later, but we are glad you 

are here. 

Senator BOXER. Is that it? You are done? OK. 

Senator Bennet, how nice to see you. 

Well, why don’t we then call on first Senator Mark Udall, and 

then Senator Bennet, to introduce our esteemed nominee. And then 

we will get to your opening statement and then we will hear from 

our colleagues. 

Go ahead. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. MARK UDALL, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF COLORADO 

Senator UDALL. Good morning, Madam Chairwoman and Ranking Member Inhofe. 

Madam Chairwoman, if I could, I would ask for unanimous consent for my formal statement to be included in the record. 

[The referenced material was not received at time of print.] 

Senator BOXER. Absolutely. 

Senator UDALL. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. 

Just 2 months ago, the Senate had the pleasure of sending one 

of our own, Senator Salazar, to head the Department of Interior, 

and he also happened, and he still happens to be a Coloradan. 

Today, I have the honor of introducing another Coloradan, Tom 

Strickland, to be the next Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife 

and Parks for the Department of Interior. 

I would tell you that I am particularly pleased, as the Chairman 

of the Subcommittee on Energy and Natural Resources for National 

Parks, to support Tom’s nomination, because he has a long history 

of activism on behalf of protecting National and State parks. 

If you will excuse me for indulging in a bit of home State pride, 

it is I think exciting to see so many Coloradans who have given up 

the opportunity to live in such a wonderful State to be here in 

Washington at this historic time. And I think it speaks highly of 

Senator Salazar’s capacity to motivate the people around him that 

he has been able to draw such talent. 

It is clear that Tom Strickland will be an excellent Assistant Secretary of the Interior. He has an exceptional record of success in 

the private and the public sector. He also has an extraordinary 

wife, Beth, who is here with him today who is inspirational in her 

own right and her own successes. 

I mention Tom’s public and private sector experience. He served 

as the U.S. Attorney from 1991 to 2001. He also has worked as a 

partner in a number of law firms, and for the lawyers here, he 
5 

served as the managing partner at a couple of these law firms. And 

you know, if you can mobilize and inspire and lead 100 or more attorneys all at the same time, you have real talent. 

In the 1980s, he served as then-Governor Lamm’s Chief Policy 

Adviser, and he worked on all policy and intergovernmental issues. 

And from 1985 to 1989, he was the head of the Colorado Transportation Commission. 

He has roots in the great State of Louisiana, which the Senators 

from Louisiana have taken note of. He was an All SEC academic 

football selection, and he received a J.D. from the University of 

Texas School of Law with honors. 

Now, Madam Chairman, I have worked with Tom Strickland for 

many years. He is known in Colorado for his deep dedication and 

love of our natural landscapes. There was an initiative in the late 

1980s and 1990s called Great Outdoors Colorado which directed 

State lottery moneys to the acquisition of public lands for parks, 

open space and conservation. Tom led that charge and it is now a 

model for the rest of the Country. 

He is an accomplished outdoorsman. We both have a deep love 

for the outdoors and the history and the people and the landscapes 

of the West. I think and I know that this is what motivated Tom 

to public service in the first place and sustained two very courageous runs for the U.S. Senate. 

Madam Chair, I want to end with a reference to Tom Friedman, 

because I am often influenced by his thinking and his writing. Over 

this last weekend, Mr. Friedman reminded us of the value of inspirational leadership. He quoted Dov Seidman, the author of the 

book ‘‘How,’’ on what it takes to make an organization sustainable. 

He wrote, ‘‘Laws tell you what you can do. Values inspire in you 

what you should do. And it is a leader’s job to inspire in us those 

values.’’ 

I mention this because I know that as the Assistant Secretary, 

Tom’s job will demand both enforcement of laws, regulations and 

important rules, and inspired collaborative leadership. He knows, 

as one of the Country’s most successful lawyers, how to enforce environmental laws. And as a man who draws inspirations from our 

mountains, plains and waters, he knows how to motivate and lead 

others. 

So with Secretary Salazar at the helm, I know that Tom Strickland will be a strong and effective partner, and I am very pleased 

to support his confirmation. It is truly an honor to introduce him 

here today. 

Thank you. 

Senator BOXER. Senator Udall, thank you so much for being 

here. I know everybody has hectic business to attend to, so we understand if you need to leave. 

We are delighted that Senator Bennet is here. We are thrilled. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. MICHAEL F. BENNET, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF COLORADO 

Senator BENNET. Thank you, Madam Chair. 

I would only echo what my senior Senator has said, from our 

State. Tom Strickland is one of the finest public servants that has 

ever been produced by the State of Colorado. He is a person for 
6 

whom no challenge is too big, either in the public or the private 

sector. 

Tom and Beth and their beautiful daughters are neighbors of 

ours in Denver. You could throw a rock if you wanted to from one 

house to the other. 

Senator BOXER. You better be careful. You better support everything he wants to do over there. 

Senator BENNET. I will. But I will tell you that he is somebody 

who cares passionately about making sure that our generation 

leaves more opportunity, not less, to the generation that is coming 

after us, that we preserve and protect our public lands. It is a great 

testament to Tom that he has been willing to come out of the private sector again to come serve his Country. So I am incredibly 

proud to be here today to support his confirmation. 

Thank you. 

Senator BOXER. Thank you so much. 

With that, we will turn to our nominee, and then in the order 

of arrival, we will turn to other Senators: Udall, Carper, Klobuchar, 

Lautenberg. 

[Remarks off microphone.] 

Senator BOXER. Just vote for the one nearest you. That is what 

I think. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator BOXER. OK. 

STATEMENT OF THOMAS L. STRICKLAND, NOMINATED TO BE 

ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF FISH AND WILDLIFE AND PARKS 

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Mr. STRICKLAND. Thank you, Chairman Boxer, Senator Inhofe 

and members of the Committee. 

I am honored to be here with you today as President Obama’s 

nominee for Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks. 

Earlier this week, I also appeared before the Senate Energy and 

Natural Resources Committee. 

I am joined here today by my wife Beth, and I would like to 

thank her for all of her love and support over many years. Not able 

to be with us here today, but with us in spirit, are our three daughters, Lauren, Annie and Callie. 

Like each of you, I have a deep commitment to public service and 

consider it a privilege to have the opportunity, if confirmed, to return to government service. As I will briefly describe in a few moments, I have had the opportunity during my career to serve in 

both State and Federal Government, and these experiences have 

been the highlights of my career. 

The responsibilities of this job include oversight of two very important parts of the Interior Department: the Fish and Wildlife 

Service and the National Park Service. As I will address in my 

brief remarks, I believe my passion and experience qualify me for 

this position at this important moment in time. 

A lawyer by training, I spent the majority of my career in Colorado, where I have worked in both the public and private sectors. 

Following a judicial clerkship in 1979, Beth and I moved to Denver. 

In 1982, I was asked by then-Governor Lamm to join his office as 

his Chief Policy Adviser. In that role, I dealt extensively with the 
7 

Interior Department and other Federal agencies regarding many 

important natural resource issues. Because one-third of Colorado is 

Federal land, the decisions made in Washington have a profound 

impact on the State and consumed much of our attention. If I am 

confirmed, I believe this perspective will be valuable in helping me 

understand and work with State and local governments. 

After I left the Governor’s office and returned to private law 

practice, I was asked by Governor Lamm to serve on and eventually chair the Colorado Transportation Commission, where I had 

the opportunity once again to work with many different Federal 

agencies including the Fish and Wildlife Service. 

My civic and community work included volunteering on many environmental and natural resource issues. I helped create the Great 

Outdoors Colorado Program, which Senator Udall mentioned, and 

served on its original organizing board. We now proudly look back 

at Great Outdoors Colorado and the fact that it has invested $600 

million and preserved 600,000 acres just in the State of Colorado 

for open space, parks and wildlife programs since 1993. 

In 1999, I was appointed by President Clinton and confirmed by 

the Senate as United States Attorney for Colorado. I was sworn in 

the day after the Columbine tragedy and spent my first day on the 

job at the school with the Attorney General of the United States. 

During my tenure as U.S. Attorney, I had the responsibility of 

representing the United States in all civil and criminal matters in 

Colorado, and I worked closely with the Interior Department, as 

well as other Federal agencies. Once again, this experience gives 

me a valuable perspective on the role and impact of the Federal 

Government. 

While these professional experiences contribute to my qualifications for this position, I believe my passion for the mission of the 

Department is equally relevant. I grew up hunting and fishing with 

my father and brother, and bring the perspective of a sportsman 

to this task. After law school when we moved to Colorado, we 

quickly fell in love with the outdoors, the mountains, rivers, 

deserts, parks and wildlife of the West. 

I recognize and appreciate that our system of national wildlife 

refuges span all 50 States and play an invaluable role in preserving and protecting countless species and habitats. Yet these 

vital lands face enormous pressures from population growth and 

climate change. I believe we must develop a strategic plan to ensure that these challenges are addressed so that we have a 21st 

century vibrant wildlife refuge system. 

One of the most significant responsibilities of the Fish and Wildlife Service is the implementation of the Endangered Species Act, 

a critically important law to ensure the conservation of plant and 

animal species and habitat. My commitment to you is that, if confirmed, I will work to see that the decisions of the Service are 

based on science, not politics. 

While it does not fall within the direct jurisdiction of this Committee, I would like to say a few words about the other primary 

area of responsibility of this position, overseeing the National Park 

Service. Like many families before us, many years ago our family 

bought a book on the national parks and set out to see all of them. 

We are still working on it, and from Acadia to Great Smoky Moun-
8 

tains to Yosemite, we have enjoyed most of them. They are, as Wallace Stegner famously said, America’s best idea. It is time for our 

generation to be responsible stewards for these treasured icons. 

As the park system approaches its 100th anniversary, the parks 

are in great need of significant investment. Just as President Lincoln did not let the Civil War keep him from setting aside and protecting Yosemite Valley, we must not use our current economic circumstances as an excuse for inaction. If confirmed, I will do everything in my power to protect and enhance our incomparable park 

system. 

In closing, I would be deeply honored to serve as Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks. I have a deep passion for 

the mission of these two services, and great respect for Secretary 

Salazar, a friend for almost 30 years, and his vision for the Department. 

Thank you for the opportunity to present this statement, and I 

would like to affirm, as requested by Senator Inhofe, that I would 

treat the requests of the minority with the same attention and responsiveness as those of the majority. 

Thank you, Chairman. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Strickland follows:] 
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Senator BOXER. Thank you so much, Mr. Strickland. We all support that. We have been in the minority and we know how it feels, 

and they need to have the same respect as everybody else. So I 

definitely support that, and I thank you for saying that. 

Senator Udall. 

Senator UDALL. Thank you, Madam Chair. 

Let me just say that our Chairwoman has been an incredible 

leader on these issues, and I very much appreciate her giving a lot 

of attention this morning to your nomination, Mr. Strickland. 

The first thing that I wanted to ask you about has to do with 

the two positions, because you know, as we talked yesterday in my 

office, this Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife, 44 percent, 

tell me if I am wrong, but we are talking 44 percent of the Department of Interior is under your Assistant Secretary position. And 

this is roughly 30,395 employees. 

So that is a huge job, that in itself. And let me say at the beginning from what Mark Udall and Senator Bennet had to say, I 

mean, you have incredible credentials and I know that you are a 

Herculean-type person, and I can tell with your wife smiling behind you that she believes that, too. 

But these are two full-time jobs, Chief of Staff and being the Assistant Secretary. So my hope, in a way, is that, and I know you 

have the enormous trust of the Secretary Ken Salazar, my hope is 

that you will be able to assume the Assistant Secretary position, 

get him, the Secretary, in a comfort level with somebody at some 

point down the line that can take over that, because they are two 

very, very important positions. I just think it is difficult to do both 

of those. 

I know that you can do them for a significant period of time, but 

that is my hope is that we, because there is so much that needs 

to be done. And really, that is my first question, and then I would 

like you to also talk about the issue of how you see consensusbuilding in dealing with these environmental issues that are before 

you, both in Parks and in Fish and Wildlife and endangered species. But do you believe you would be able to give sufficient time 

and leadership to both the Parks and Fish and Wildlife Service, as 

well as Secretary Salazar and the entire Department of Interior? 

Can you describe to the Committee how you will manage both of 

these positions at once? Please. 

Mr. STRICKLAND. Thank you, Senator. 

If I could just, before I respond to that, Madam Chairman, I 

haven’t been sworn in and I just want to make sure that as I go 

forward that—— 

Senator BOXER. We don’t need to swear you in. 

Mr. STRICKLAND. That is fine on that basis. 

Senator BOXER. This isn’t the inauguration where you have to. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. STRICKLAND. Thank you. 

Senator BOXER. You are fine. What we do have to do is ask you 

a couple of questions for the record before it ends, but you are in 

good shape. 

Mr. STRICKLAND. Very good. Very good. 

Senator UDALL. You can also see he is a fine lawyer and trying 

to give us a little advice here. 
39 

Senator BOXER. I think, absolutely, absolutely. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. STRICKLAND. Well, Chief Justice Roberts is a former law 

partner of mine. 

Senator BOXER. Oh, is that right? 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. Did you advise him on the word faithfully? 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. STRICKLAND. I won’t claim any responsibility for that. 

Senator, first of all I want to say that it is an honor to be considered for a position at the Department of Interior and to be in the 

same room with the son of one of the greatest Secretaries of Interior of all time, Stewart Udall. I have to pay homage to your father’s tremendous legacy. The Department will always reflect his 

stewardship, so I just want to acknowledge that. And certainly I 

want to acknowledge your uncle as well, Mark’s father, and his 

contributions. It is a privilege to know your father and to have 

known Mark’s. 

With respect to your question relative to the fact that Senator 

Salazar has asked me to be both the Chief of Staff and the Assistant Secretary, let me speak to that. First of all, that is what he 

asked me to do, and he is pretty persuasive. I have been in the role 

of Chief of Staff since January 21, so I have been helping the Senator as the transition has been undertaken and as we have tried 

to recruit and get the team through the confirmation process. 

I will commit to this Committee, as I did to the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, that my first priority will be the responsibilities of this Assistant Secretary position. We are staffing the 

personal operation of the Secretary with that in mind. I have a 

very strong Deputy Chief of Staff, Renee Stone. She literally is a 

Rhodes Scholar and she is going to take most of the responsibilities 

of the Chief of Staff day to day. 

I will have an office down on the third floor with Fish and Wildlife and the Parks Department. If there is any conflict, then I will 

make further adjustments. But my primary focus will be on the responsibilities for the position that I am in front of you all here 

today to discuss. 

With respect to the second part of your question and the role of 

consensus in resolving these issues, I completely agree with you. I 

believe in particular that the Endangered Species Act has many vehicles for partnerships to accomplish the goals of preserving habitat and endangered species. And those partnership situations, 

whether they are habitat conservation plans or other kinds of similar undertakings, are central to the success that we want to have 

going forward. 

I believe I have experience at that. Following the Columbine 

tragedy in Colorado, we embarked on an effort as U.S. Attorney to 

strengthen the enforcement of the gun laws. I think for the first 

and only time, at least up to that point, we got Wayne LaPierre 

and James Brady together on the same stage at the same time to 

join in tougher enforcement of gun laws in Colorado. 

So we appreciated at that time the importance of bringing disparate interests together. I wish I could say that particular partnership had continued, but in any event I think it is central to this 

task and I will commit to you that I will do my best to further that. 
40 

Senator UDALL. Thank you for those answers. Thank you. 

Senator BOXER. Senator Carper has very sweetly yielded to Senator Lautenberg for a couple of minutes. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY 

Senator LAUTENBERG. I will be brief, and say hello, Tom. We 

have known each other for some time. Tom Strickland called me 

1 day shortly after I wrote a law that bans gun permits for spousal 

abusers. And Tom Strickland called me up and said, Frank, I got 

a conviction there. This guy is going to get 3 years for violation of, 

correct me if I am wrong, but be careful. 

And we have had a lot of contact. And one thing I know, and my 

friend Mark Udall has responsibility for two beautiful grandchildren, my son and daughter-in-law who live in Colorado, and we 

are tree huggers and nature lovers. Call it what you will. I know 

that we share the same view on our responsibility to nature and 

our responsibility to the environment. 

Madam Chairman, I have a longer statement which I will not 

read out of gratitude for the forbearance of my colleague from Delaware, and some questions. One, that we are very excited in New 

Jersey now. I look out at the mountains of New Jersey, well, hills 

of New Jersey. Our mountains, the highest mountain in New Jersey is 800 feet. It is really devilish getting up there, but we have 

now in New Jersey just been awarded historic protection to an area 

called the Passaic Falls. It is the city I grew up in, Paterson, New 

Jersey, an industrial town, abused by industry. Factories used the 

river as a way to discharge effluent. 

And we are all so proud of that. And Mr. Assistant Chief of Staff, 

I hope that you will be able to join us. The bill was passed last 

week, and the measure would designate 35 acres of the Paterson 

Great Falls Historic District as a National Historic Park. President 

Obama is expected to sign the bill into law early next week. 

I hope that you will come and visit us in Paterson to welcome 

our newest National Historic Park. As an addendum, Alexander 

Hamilton began his influence on the industrial revolution in 

Paterson, and we still see raceways that funnel the water to factories and provided the energy and power, and we welcome you and 

Beth Strickland to this assignment. And I know very well that you 

will handle it well. 

As a managing partner who was able to keep our good friend at 

that time in order, no names because he runs a very significant law 

firm, and you were a partner there as well. So I know that you can 

handle very difficult assignments. 

Thank you very much, and thank you to Senator Carper. 

Senator BOXER. Thank you. 

Senator Carper. 

Mr. STRICKLAND. Thank you, Senator. And I will look forward to 

visiting that new park and we are very excited about it. 

Senator CARPER. Well, that is a great segue into my question. 

Again, welcome to you and to your wife. Nice to see you. 

Let me just say to her, thank you very much for your willingness 

to share this guy with us in this way. 
41 

The President came and spoke with us, by the way, at our caucus 

and talked about his budget. In responding to him, I suggested 

some ways we could save money. It is easy to come up with the 

ways to spend money. Actually, I think in his budget it makes very 

wise investments, for the most part. But the idea of you serving as 

Chief of Staff and as the Assistant Secretary in this post, that is 

a good way to save money. I hadn’t thought of that. 

We have Senator Amy Klobuchar over here, who is doing yeoman’s labor. She is like the only Senator from Minnesota, and she 

is doing the work of two Senators. I asked Harry Reid, our leader—— 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. Well, compared to Delaware, a woman can 

always do the work of two men. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator BOXER. And two women in California, with 37 million 

people—— 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. Oh, here we go. 

Senator BOXER [continuing]. Can do the work of several men. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. I should have let it go. 

Senator CARPER. I yield back my time. 

Senator BOXER. But we will strike that off the record. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator BOXER. We are going to give you as a result of having 

to put up with Amy and me an extra 2 minutes. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator CARPER. I was the only Senator for Delaware for 5 days 

after Joe Biden stepped down. And I said to Harry Reid, our leader, I said, you know, Harry, I am doing the work of two people 

here. Do you think I could for 5 days get paid for both of us? And 

he said, you’re lucky to get one paycheck. So I am taking abuse 

from all sides. 

Earlier in your comments, you quoted Wallace Stegner who once 

described national parks as America’s best idea. I don’t know that 

it is the best idea, but it is certainly a great idea. My family and 

I have been privileged to visit national parks in many places 

around the Country. In fact, my boys are now in college. One of 

them was actually here yesterday. He spent the day shadowing me. 

He is on spring break, which is great fun. 

And I remember we were thinking of taking a trip maybe to go 

to Alaska several summers ago, maybe four or five summers ago. 

And we got on the Internet, the National Park Service Web site, 

and we just decided to see what kind of national parks were available for us to visit. And there are wonderful national parks in Alaska, bigger than the whole State of Delaware, as it turns out. And 

we ended up going and spending 7, 9, 9, 10 days there. We had a 

great time. 

But as we went through the National Park Web site to look at 

the different offerings, we found that there are 49 States that had 

national parks to visit, and one State, ironically, did not. And it is 

a State where, I think, America’s best idea, which I think is our 

Constitution, was first adopted. And for a whole week or so, Delaware was the entire United States of America. We were the first 

State to ratify the Constitution. And we have done a whole lot of 
42 

other things as well that we think are deserving of recognition and 

of a national park, but we have never gotten one. 

Dirk Kempthorne, who was Ken Salazar’s predecessor, he and 

his staff were very good to work with us to address that. And we 

got authorization passed to do a study, funding for a study. That 

has been completed. The study was presented late last year by 

some very fine people who work at the National Park Service in 

recommending a national park in Delaware, with a little different 

kind of approach, but one that celebrates our national heritage. 

And one of Dirk Kempthorne’s, one of his hopes was that before 

he finished, left as Secretary, they could wrap it up and finish. We 

still need to pass authorizing legislation through the Congress and 

my hope is we will be able to do that and to move forward. 

I just want to bring this to your attention. Our friend Ken Burns, 

the famous film maker who lives in New England now, actually 

grew up in Delaware. And one of his latest creations, as you probably know, I think it is called America’s Best Idea, The National 

Park. And he and I have shared notes before about how ironic it 

is that the State that helped start his Country is the last State to 

actually be eligible for a park. 

I just want to put all that at your doorstep today and just ask 

for your thoughts. 

Mr. STRICKLAND. Well, thank you, Senator. I have had a chance 

to meet with Ken Burns, in fact, and the Secretary has, and we 

look forward to the opportunities of sharing his great craftsmanship with the American people. I think it is going to create an unprecedented additional level of support for the park system as that 

rolls out this fall. I will commit to work closely with you and I am 

sure the Secretary will as well, to remedy the fact that there is one 

State that doesn’t have a national park. And so I will make that 

commitment here today and look forward to working with you to 

that end. 

Senator CARPER. Good. I appreciate that commitment, and we 

will look forward to working with you and this Administration, 

much as we did the last. 

The other thing that Secretary Salazar was good to say, I spoke 

with him about this issue a couple of months ago and he was 

aware of it even as a Senator. And he said to me, if you think that 

Dirk Kempthorne was supportive of your initiative, you have not 

seen anything yet. So I appreciate the commitment from both of 

you. 

And Madam Chair, I have a statement for the record. And with 

that, I will bid you adieu and wish you good luck. 

Thank you. 

[The referenced material was not received at time of print.] 

Mr. STRICKLAND. Thank you, Senator. 

Senator BOXER. Thank you, Senator. 

Senator Klobuchar. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. Thank you very much, Madam Chairman. 

And I want to congratulate you, first of all, for holding this hearing so quickly, and also to the Administration, the President, for 

despite all the big challenges going on, is working tirelessly to fill 

as many seats in government as there are in a hockey arena, a col-
43 

lege hockey arena. That is a Minnesota analogy. It is true. We just 

figured that out. 

I also want to welcome my friend, Tom Strickland, who I know 

was the U.S. Attorney. I knew him then, as he worked in Minnesota, so he knows our State well. Thank you so much. 

I just see this as such an opportunity for Secretary Salazar and 

you, with our shared views that, first of all, we shouldn’t be operating in an evidence-free zone when it comes to the protection of 

our natural resources. 

Second, we have an opportunity, and I know both you and Secretary Salazar believes this, to have our environmental work go 

hand in hand with our work in the energy area to promote homegrown energy and others. 

So I just had a few questions. The first is really about our national parks. I can tell you I know the stimulus package included 

some money. As you probably know, we have the Boundary Waters 

Canoe Wilderness Area as well as Voyageurs National Park in 

Minnesota, that are really very close to where my dad grew up and 

my relatives in northern Minnesota. 

And I know that there is $750 million in there for the National 

Park Service, and some of the funds are scheduled to go to deferred 

maintenance and critical repairs, and a large chunk of the funds, 

$589 million, is slated for replacing facilities and cleaning up mine 

sites. 

I just wondered if you could talk a little bit about your priorities 

for that stimulus money. 

Mr. STRICKLAND. Thank you, Senator Klobuchar, and thank you 

for your welcoming remarks. 

We are in the process right now of working with OMB to refine 

a list of projects for the $750 million that has been directed by the 

Congress to the national park system. And there were parameters, 

as you articulated, set forth. In addition, Secretary Salazar has 

challenged the services and bureaus of the Department that are 

getting dollars to have their projects also reflect an emphasis on renewable energy, on promoting what he called the ‘‘treasured landscapes and special places in America,’’ as well as promoting youth 

programs. 

So those are some additional areas of emphasis that we are trying to accommodate as we go through the list of potential projects. 

We have what has been estimated to be a $9 billion backlog of deferred maintenance in the park system. So while $750 million 

sounds like a lot and is a lot, in the context of the needs we have 

many more deserving projects than we have immediately available 

dollars. 

So of course the driving urgency of the program is to have shovel-ready projects that create jobs that can help alleviate the economic suffering that is so strongly felt throughout the Country. So 

we are trying to accommodate all of those considerations. 

We don’t have a list to share yet, but we will shortly, and we are 

literally in what we hope will be the final stages of review with 

OMB, and I think that they are going to show wide geographic diversity and honor these priorities. 
44 

So I will be happy to work with you. We are going to post all of 

that on the Internet and we will be making announcements as we 

get the final sign-off from OMB. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. Thank you. 

The national parks have always been a part of my family’s history, as they were of yours. Actually, as I was sitting here, I realized every family vacation we ever took involved a State park or 

a national park. My sister hiked up Harney Peak in South Dakota 

when she was still in diapers. We spent many times in Yellowstone 

and the Grand Tetons, and we have, as I mentioned, parks in Minnesota. 

Could you talk a little bit of how you, which is a big issue in our 

State, how you balance the multiple uses of parks, whether it is 

some grandfathered-in trails or things like that? We have had, of 

course, as you know, battles over the Boundary Waters in our 

State’s history. And as Jim Oberstar declared, the 100-year fight 

over the Boundary Waters has finally ended, and we have been 

able to work that. But could you talk a little bit about multiple 

uses in parks? 

Mr. STRICKLAND. I would be happy to, Senator. 

It is a central premise of our public lands to honor the concept 

of multiple use and this omnibus lands bill reflects I think the values that we bring to our management of our public lands. Now, 

some lands are deemed to be so fragile and special that we should 

have a minimum of human activity. And of course, those are wilderness designated areas. At the other end of the continuum, you 

have lands that are actively developed for coal mining or other 

kinds of intensive development. 

Along that continuum, it is often a balancing act. And with respect to our national parks, we have a wide range of requests that 

come in all the time for hunting activities. In Yellowstone, for another example, the level and use of snowmobiles has been an ongoing issue of conversation and litigation, for that matter. Right now, 

we are in Yellowstone in the middle of dueling Federal courts, one 

in DC and one in Wyoming, that are directing us to do different 

things. 

So I think our basic philosophy as we sort through those decisions will be to honor the values that are central to the mission of 

the park. And so while in some parks you can have more intensive 

activity in certain areas, other parts of the parks, as designated, 

for example parts of Rocky Mountain Park are now designated as 

wilderness as a result of the bill that the Congress just passed and 

the President is expected to sign on Monday. 

So the level of activity in those places will be, in terms of motorized vehicles, et cetera, will be very different than if they hadn’t 

gotten that designation. So I think what we need to do is we need 

to look at these things on a case by case basis, but recognize that 

certain activities are going to impinge on other people’s enjoyment, 

and so we need to be able to have some of the core missions of 

these parks honored as a place of respite and a place for wildlife 

to be able to live harmoniously. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. Madam Chair, could I ask one more question? 

Senator BOXER. Yes. 
45 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. OK. 

In Minnesota, we love our fishing. I think I have the statistic 

once of how many tens of millions of dollars we spend every year 

on worms. It is really quite impressive to show how it contributes 

to our economy. But one of the things that has concerned us about 

Lake Superior and some of our lakes is just the danger of invasive 

species. 

My staff actually told me that Senator Nelson of Florida is trying 

to wrangle you to go down to Florida to have an 18-foot Burmese 

python wrapped around you and Secretary Salazar. I actually have 

seen these pythons. I will tell you it is disturbing that they suddenly landed in the middle of the Everglades. 

But we also have some issues with invasive species in Minnesota, 

particularly the Asian carp. I don’t know if you know about this 

issue. We have actually got some funding for dams and there is a 

YouTube video I suggest you look at that shows that these huge 

Asian carp jumping out of the water and hitting fishermen on the 

head. I am not kidding. 

And so we are very concerned about these issues of invasive species. One, I want to extend to you and invitation to get hit over the 

head by an Asian carp. And then second, I just wondered about 

your general view of invasive species and what role the Department could have with regard to those. 

Mr. STRICKLAND. Well, thank you. I would be happy to come visit 

the carp as well. And Senator Nelson has invited us to come down 

and see the Burmese pythons, which I think do grow to that size. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. It scared my daughter, so it is worth seeing. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. STRICKLAND. We have this issue in many places, and we 

have it not only with respect to plants, but with fish and other animal and reptile species as well. And it is a serious problem. And 

the Department of Agriculture also has funding to assist. And so 

what we are trying to do is identify the highest priority areas and 

try to address those. 

I know that the Asian carp is high on our list. In fact, it had 

been brought to my attention before this briefing. In the Grand 

Canyon, we have invasive species of plants. We have that, I know 

in California we have some of the same issues. 

So I think it is something that has not gotten as much attention 

as it should of, and we will commit that we will give it more attention. And to the extent that we have adequate funding, we will do 

our best to address the problem. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. Thank you very much. 

Senator BOXER. Thank you, Senator Klobuchar. 

I am going to do my job here, and then I am going to hand the 

gavel over to Senator Cardin and he will run the rest of the hearing and close it down. 

I am going to send you a couple of things to look at. There was 

an article February 27, 2007 in the L.A. Times, Mighty Lean Times 

For Wildlife Refuges. And it goes through the fact that the budget 

for these were just starved, and we have all these problems. You 

were supposed to build visitors centers and didn’t do it. 
46 

One of the arguments I always make about preservation of our 

environment in California is that it is good for the economy. We 

have asked various firms to let us know about this, with the 

700,000 acres of wilderness designation that just appeared, that 

just make it into this wonderful lands bill; 400 permanent jobs and 

millions of dollars in income to our State. 

So when we fail to maintain and protect these areas, we pay a 

price. At the end of the day, people aren’t going to come. So here, 

we have over 40 refuges in our State, and I am going to send you, 

well, I am going to send it over to you, not that you need it. It is 

on your Web site, but I am going to send it over to you. Also a map. 

You know, California is just dotted with these places, these wonderful glorious places. So I am going to send this over to you, as 

well as this article. 

So there was very little money, then, to hire a second full-time 

law enforcement officer, for example, in the San Luis National 

Wildlife Refuge complex, because we really need to ensure that 

people aren’t misusing these refuges. So I am going to hope that, 

you are going to know this, but I am going to ask you for the 

record, as you sit around these meetings with your superiors, I 

hope you are going to be a real stalwart for arguing. 

It is not always funding. Sometimes it is just you could shift 

some funding. You could make some of these changes, but I am 

going to assume that you are going to fight hard so that you can 

do this job right. You are going to tell honestly what you need to 

do it right. If you don’t, if you can’t, if we can’t give it to you, that 

is another story. 

But I guess my question is, will you be an advocate for what you 

are supposed to be looking after? 

Mr. STRICKLAND. Thank you, Chairman. 

I can assure you that I, along with Secretary Salazar, take the 

point that you make very seriously. We have refuges in all 50 

States. We have about 93 million acres of wildlife refuges. They are 

under enormous pressure from global climate change in many 

cases, and population encroachment. We have just embarked, I 

think, just in the last months of the previous Administration, in 

the first assessment of the impact of climate change on our wildlife 

refuges to see if we have to make adjustments to the boundaries 

or if we have to set aside other lands, or how to manage the ones 

that we have. 

So we have multiple considerations that make your point that 

much more important for our consideration. And as we are looking 

at the stimulus moneys, we also recognize that 40 million people 

visit our wildlife refuges annually, so they are an important source 

of economic activity and enjoyment for the public. 

So we will commit to work with you and your Committee and 

others to identify what the needs are and to try and spend the dollars as wisely as possible, and to make sure that we are addressing 

the challenges that population growth and climate change are putting on our wildlife refuges. 

Senator BOXER. Well, that is very important, because I have always believed that when you take a job like this, you need to be 

an advocate for it. And I have found under some Administrations 

we didn’t have that. And all I ask is for the truth. You know, in 
47 

order to do this job right, what is it you need? If we don’t give it 

to you, that is our problem, but I need to know that you are going 

to tell us the truth, and I have that great sense that you will. 

I also think, I am glad you raised the stimulus issue because 

those moneys really should be used for those one-time, neglected 

improvements that we need to make, rather than the ongoing. The 

ongoing we have to do in our budget. So I hope you will oversee 

that because that is a great opportunity. 

Let me do my little business here that I have to do so that we 

can get your nomination moving along. 

In order for the Committee and other committees to exercise 

their legislative and oversight responsibilities, it is important that 

committees of Congress are able to receive testimony, briefings and 

other information. 

So first of all, do you agree, if confirmed, to appear before this 

Committee or designated Members of this Committee and other appropriate committees of the Congress and provide information subject to appropriate and necessary security protection with respect 

to your responsibilities as Assistant Secretary? 

Mr. STRICKLAND. I do agree. 

Senator BOXER. Do you agree to ensure that testimony, briefings, 

documents, and electronic and other forms of communication of information are provided to this Committee and its staff and other 

appropriate committees in a timely manner? 

Mr. STRICKLAND. I do agree. 

Senator BOXER. And three, do you know of any matters which 

you may or may not have disclosed that might place you in any 

conflict of interest if you are confirmed as Assistant Secretary? 

Mr. STRICKLAND. My investments, personal holdings and other 

interests have been reviewed by both myself and the appropriate 

ethics counselors within the Federal Government. I have taken appropriate action to avoid any conflicts of interest. There are no conflicts of interest or appearances thereof to my knowledge. 

Senator BOXER. Excellent. And we are going to ask our Members 

to submit questions by tomorrow morning, with responses due 

Monday. So I am assuming that you will do whatever you have to 

do to get those responses in because what we want to do is mark 

up your nomination as early as next week. And if we miss that 

deadline, then we have to wait until after the recess. 

So are you willing to do what it takes to answer these questions? 

Mr. STRICKLAND. Absolutely. 

Senator BOXER. That is right. It could be a late night Sunday, 

but I know your wife is saying, he will do it. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator BOXER. Well, I am just thrilled with this nomination, obviously. And I am happy to turn the gavel over to my friend Ben 

Cardin, who by the way has a very important responsibility. He is 

overseeing all of the water issues. And you and he will have a lot 

of work to do. He is a passionate defender of wildlife and of the environment. And I am so proud of my Subcommittee Chairs and give 

them a lot of responsibility. 

So I think it is appropriate, Ben, that you take as much time as 

you need and close out the hearing. 
48 

Senator CARDIN [presiding]. Well, thank you, Madam Chair, and 

I appreciate your leadership on this issue. 

Mr. Strickland, thank you for your willingness to serve the public 

in this very, very important position. I want to thank your family 

for the sacrifices that you will be making. 

I enjoyed our conversation yesterday, or the day before, where we 

had a chance to talk a little bit about your commitment to our environment. I hope that this new assignment will not prevent you 

from getting out and enjoying the wilderness of America because 

it is a great Country, and your position will have a critical role in 

preserving that for the future. 

I do want to ask you about policy guidance and the use of best 

information, science information in making judgments, particularly 

as it relates to the Endangered Species Act. 

I think most people agree that the Endangered Species Act is one 

of the most important safeguards that was enacted by Congress in 

order to preserve diversity in our wildlife, and that decisions 

should be based upon good science, good information, and should 

not be based upon political considerations. 

And yet a recent IG investigation pointed out that political interference did affect the Endangered Species Act implementation by 

the Department of Interior. And that there was at least some ambiguity as to how the Department should enforce the law because of 

the political guidance given by the previous Administration. 

Are you committed to giving the agency staff clear policy guidance on the implementation of the Endangered Species Act, which 

will be based upon the best science information we have to make 

sure that we carry out that important law? 

Mr. STRICKLAND. Well, Senator, absolutely. I can say this on my 

behalf and on behalf of Secretary Salazar. One of the reasons I 

think he asked me to join him in this job is that as a former Federal prosecutor, he asked me to come in and help him address some 

of the historic issues that plague the Department with respect to 

the issue that you mentioned in Fish and Wildlife, and some management issues at the Mineral Management Service. 

One of the very first things that the now-Secretary did was to go 

with me out to Colorado to MMS to meet with every employee 

there to address these ethics and integrity issues. We have sent the 

message throughout the Department that the rule of law will apply 

and that policy decisions will be based on science and on the appropriate considerations, and not politics or special interests. 

Senator CARDIN. Well, I thank you for that commitment. I was 

pleased to see the President make a similar commitment. It was 

in a different context. We were there dealing with research. But he 

made a similar declaration, actually signed an executive order that 

the guidance would be based upon the best science, and not political considerations, which clearly has been the tradition within the 

Department of Interior and also within the other departments of 

government, but was compromised, I think, in recent years. 

So we are very concerned about making sure the consultation 

process that was envisioned in law to get the best possible information-based decisions becomes the policy of the Department of Interior, particularly as it relates to the Endangered Species Act. 
49 

Let me move on to a second issue that we talked about, and that 

is the concerns on our refuge, our wildlife refuge, and what is happening particularly as it relates in Maryland to the Blackwater. 

The Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge is a valuable area of our 

State for diversity. We are currently losing about 150 acres a year 

because of sea level change. We believe it is a result of global climate change. We are in danger of losing the local habitat for the 

Baltimore orioles. I don’t know what that means as far as our State 

is concerned, but I think it reflects the consequences of not dealing 

with global climate change. 

In the 2009 omnibus appropriations bill, language directed the 

Secretary of Interior to develop a national strategy to assist wildlife 

and the ecosystems across our Nation from the adverse impact of 

global climate change. 

Can you just share with us your thoughts as to how you would 

go about advising the Secretary in complying with that provision 

in the omnibus appropriation bill? 

Mr. STRICKLAND. Well, thank you, Senator. 

We do have a special challenge, as I alluded to a few minutes 

ago, in trying to protect the role played by our wildlife refuges for 

the next century. Those that set refuges aside many, many years 

ago had vision, and the system has been in place for many, many 

years. We have to match that now in the time when we are seeing 

these pressures. 

So we have a lot of good scientists at the Department. We have 

8,700 at USGS. We have a lot of fine biologists and scientists at 

Fish and Wildlife. What we are going to do is fast track a baseline 

analysis throughout the Country of the changes that are impacting 

the refuge in your State that you just mentioned, and others, and 

determine what remedial actions we need to take, and they will be 

different in different places. 

Some places we may acquire additional lands. Other places, we 

may do habitat restoration. So we are going to do it on an accelerated basis and we are going to do it with a sense of urgency and 

mission because we understand that these species, if their habitat 

is no longer available, will be pressured and we could lose them. 

So it is a very important part of our role. 

Senator CARDIN. Let me just stress, I think there are several 

parts to this concern. We certainly want to look at remedial action, 

what we can do to save diversity and species in America. Each 

State has its own challenges. In Maryland and our region, the 

Chesapeake Bay is a huge challenge. We are seeing patterns dealing with the future of the blue crab that concerns us. 

We know that global climate change has produced a sea level 

change, but also a warming of the water which affects how our sea 

grasses can survive, which affects where juvenile crabs can hide. 

And if they can’t hide, they can’t survive. And the crops are getting 

smaller and smaller, which is affecting diversity in the whole food 

chain in Maryland. And I think every Senator could tell you another story about what is happening in their own States as far as 

fish and wildlife is concerned. 

So part of our concern about the dangers of global climate change 

is how do we have remedial programs to preserve diversity and to 
50 

preserve our economy and our way of life. But the other is so we 

can take action to prevent this type of damage. 

One of the problems we have is that many Americans have yet 

to really understand the day to day risks associated with global climate change. And the more information we can get available to 

them, and I think you can play a role here, we can work and develop policies based upon facts. And that is what we are trying to 

do. We are trying to use good science and facts to say what can we 

do to change the future direction of our environment for the better, 

and what can we do to try to fix the damage we have already done. 

That is certainly our challenge in the Chesapeake Bay. In the 

Chesapeake Bay, we have taken steps to try to correct a lot of the 

problems in the bay, but we also want to prevent the future decay 

as a result of matters that we can control, whether it is global climate change or whether it is pollution issues or whether it is farming practices or whether it is runoff issues. All of that will have an 

impact on preserving the diversity of fish and wildlife in our region. 

So I would hope that the strategy that you come out with within 

the Department of Interior will be mindful that you can play a dual 

role in educating the public to take action to help the future, as 

well as remedial programs that are our best chance to preserve our 

way of life and our future for diversity of wildlife and fish in the 

United States. 

Mr. STRICKLAND. Well, thank you, Senator. I think it is fair to 

say that the Department has been behind the curve on this, and 

we have some catching up to do. We need to bring a sense of urgency, because you said it very well. The challenge is there. 

Senator CARDIN. And let me just concur with Senator Boxer’s 

comments. We are so pleased that you willing to take on this responsibility. I certainly hope that the Committee can complete its 

review quickly and that your nomination can go to the floor for action so that our colleague, our former colleague can have a little bit 

of help in the Department. I know it gets lonely there without having confirmed positions. So we hope we will be able to give him a 

confirmed position and be able to move quickly on your nomination. 

And with that, our Committee will stand adjourned. 

Thank you very much. 

Mr. STRICKLAND. Thank you, Senator. 

[Whereupon, at 11 a.m., the committee was adjourned.] 

[Additional statements submitted for the record follow:] 

STATEMENT OF HON. BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, U.S. SENATOR

FROM THE STATE OF MARYLAND

Madam Chairman, thank you for holding this hearing. 

Today we will hear from Tom Strickland, nominated for Assistant Secretary for 

Fish and Wildlife and Parks at the Department of Interior. 

The nominee has extensive, relevant, on-the-job experience, and has made major 

contributions in his area of expertise. Unfortunately, he will face some daunting 

challenges. During the last Administration, decisions made in the Department of the 

Interior ignored the role of science with frightening regularity. The nominee is 

charged with restoring the role good science must play in making good public policy. 

The Department of Interior has world-class scientists as part of its workforce. The 

challenge for Mr. Strickland will be to reinvigorate that scientific expertise and reempower these scientists. Secretary Salazar, as well as the President himself, has 

promised to return scientific integrity to government. I will be listening closely for 

a similar pledge from you today. 
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The first front for restoring the role of science will be addressing the problems 

associated with the Endangered Species Act. The highly politicized way in which 

this critical statute was handled during the last Administration has left a legacy 

of poor decisions, discarded science, and policies that are being challenged successfully in our courts. 

We need your full attention focused on restoring the integrity of the ESA process. 

In addition, our National Wildlife Refuges and National Parks are all in a state 

of serious disrepair. The backlog of deferred maintenance is overwhelming. 

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided substantial resources to 

the Department of Interior to address some of those issues in both our refuges and 

our parks. But that is just the beginning. We will be looking to you for long-term 

investment plans that will restore these jewels of our public lands to their full glory. 

We will also be looking to you for how best to manage many of the impacts of 

global climate change. The Fish and Wildlife Service will be in the forefront of national efforts to address new land management issues as well as the adaptation 

needs of our wildlife brought about by the impacts of climate change. 

As I mentioned to you when we visited in my office earlier this week, you will 

find few better examples of the impacts of climate change than in the Blackwater 

National Wildlife Refuge on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. I encourage you to come to 

Blackwater with me to see firsthand the impacts of climate change and to discuss 

ways in which we can creatively address these land management and adaptation 

issues. 

Madam Chairman, I think Mr. Strickland is highly qualified and I hope that he 

will receive broad, bi-partisan support from this Committee and the entire Senate. 

President Obama needs to get his team into place, and I hope we will act quickly 

to get Mr. Strickland confirmed and to work for the American people. 

STATEMENT OF HON. CHRISTOPHER S. BOND, U.S. SENATOR

FROM THE STATE OF MISSOURI

Every year, Missouri farmers understand that we will have spring rains, which 

may damage or break levees. 

And yet every year Missourians have to beg the Fish and Wildlife Service and the 

Corps of Engineers to prevent further flooding with a man-made spring rise, which 

they call a ‘‘pulse.’’ 

This entire battle which puts human lives and farmland at risk is all done in the 

name of a fish. The Pallid Sturgeon. Even though some reports show that a spring 

rise has no impact on mating habits, we continue to have this debate. 

The spring rise has been strongly opposed by Missouri DNR under four separate 

Governors of both parties. Democrats and Republicans have all concluded that the 

value of this is experiment is dubious and risks are real. 

I have been fighting the man-made spring rise for years and for years know from 

experience that you cannot anticipate the amount of waterfall from the time the 

water is released at Gavin’s Point dam until approximately 10 days later when it 

reaches Jefferson City, Missouri. 

To add insult to injury, each year we find that many of our land owners are still 

waiting for the levees to be repaired from the last year’s flood events. This is simply 

unacceptable. 

It would be great of the Fish and Wildlife Service to be out monitoring the impacts of the natural rises that occur each year and the impacts that these natural 

‘‘pulses’’ have on the mating habits of this fish. Otherwise, we will never know if 

this man-induced flood is needed. I hope you will consider this monitoring in the 

future. Our river should not be used as a grand scale science experiment. 

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