Zinke's Proposal to Revamp Interior Department

THE DEBATE i n p r i n t

Reorganizing the Administration of Public Lands: Zinke’s Proposal to Revamp Interior Department

ecretary Ryan Zinke has announced his to comment on whether, in their view, Congress intention to undertake a major reorganiza- and the Trump administration should tackle a re- Stion of the Department of the Interior, al- organization effort and, if so, what it might look though the exact proposal is a moving target, as like. We asked them to respond to the Zinke pro- he has since amended it after pushback from posal and make their own suggestions. some western governors who urged him to fol- As an initial matter, should Congress take low state borders. His initial reform would move steps to clarify the Interior Department’s primary field personnel into a new regional structure that roles, and align its bureaus and regional structure would be defined by watersheds or other - geo accordingly? Is now a good time to address the graphic features. perennial question of whether the U.S. Forest Ser- At the same time, he proposed delegating vice and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric more authority to the field — including, potentially, Administration should be part of Interior’s natural giving rotating regional heads decisionmaking au- resources portfolio, rather than being in the Agri- thority for the department. Other ideas floated in culture and Commerce Departments? What have the proposal include moving one or more bureau we learned from prior formal reorganizations headquarters to a western city. Some observers (such as the break-up of the Minerals Manage- also have even discussed moving the department Service), or from other management efforts ment’s main offices from Washington to the West. to promote joint decisionmaking among the de- There are good reasons to reorganize the department’s many bureaus? partment. Interior has a number of bureaus with In sum, what is the best management struc- sometimes-conflicting missions and, in years ture for a department that administers vast past, was described by some as the “Depart- holdings throughout the United States, with an ment of Everything Else.” So it is not surprising environmental charge as part of its mandate? that Interior reorganization ideas surface on a Editor’s Note: We asked Deputy Secretary of recurring basis. the Interior David Bernhardt to participate in this We have asked several experienced hands Debate, but he declined our invitation.

50 |THE ENVIRONMENTAL FORUM Copyright © 2018, Environmental Law Institute®, Washington, D.C. www.eli.org. Reprinted by permission from The Environmental Forum®, May/June 2018 “With the exception of one “The process for proposal bright spot — a common development makes clear regional structure for all that this administration bureaus — it is difficult has no real intention of not to be disappointed in improving Interior but what remains a largely instead hopes to destabilize ill-defined plan to meet the department and unclear goals.” encourage staff departures.”

David J. Hayes Amanda Leiter Executive Director Professor of Law NYU Law School State Energy & American University Environmental Impact Center

“Pursuing the goal “These management goals of respecting local mirror qualities sought variations, the current after by various secretaries plan seems headed as they strived to better toward a one-size-fits- fulfill the department’s all prescription for the mission involving creation of regional competing goals and administrative units.” strong passions.”

Patty Limerick Lynn Scarlett Faculty Director and Chair Co-Chief External Affairs Officer University of Colorado The Nature Conservancy Center of the American West

“DOI surely would “A virtual restruction benefit from further would encourage organizational agencies and employees efficiencies to reduce to seek common ground longstanding problems with their counterparts stemming from in state and local fragmented and slow government and the decisionmaking.” private sector.”

Peter Schaumberg Doug Wheeler Principal Senior Counsel Beveridge & Diamond, P.C. Hogan Lovells US LLP

together better, and co-locating them pointed out in a State of the Union The Zinke is a good start. Setting up a Russian address, it makes no sense that two Plan Misses roulette system that gives one bureau agencies in two different departments authority over others in resolving in- (FWS at Interior, and NOAA at Com- the Mark teragency disputes, however, is sure to merce) co-regulate endangered and exacerbate infighting. threatened species. By David J. Hayes Simply put, conflicts will not be Also, climate change impacts are effectively resolved by randomly em- challenging land, water and wildlife olitical leaders find the prospect powering one bureau over others. On managers across the entire span of of reorganizing complex govern- many tough issues, Interior’s bureaus Interior. There is no playbook for mental organizations seductive. have shown that when guided by the how best to discharge stewardship PSurely, the argument goes, reorganiza- department’s common, unifying mis- responsibilities in the face of extended tions can break down silos and enable sion and purpose, they eagerly work droughts, elongated and more intense agencies to be better aligned toward together toward that end. In my expe- wildfire seasons, the spread of inva- common goals. And what better place rience, the department’s workforce is sive species, sea rise and storm surge than the Interior Department, which extraordinarily dedicated to, and proud impacts on coastal resources, and includes nearly a dozen large, distinct of, Interior’s goal of conservation, changing wildlife patterns. So wouldn’t agencies that have complex missions prudent use of our nation’s natural re- it make sense to aggressively explore that sometimes don’t line up together. sources, and honoring and protecting more collaborative science and man- From the beginning of his tenure, our historic and cultural resources. agement responses across agency lines Secretary Zinke has talked about un- On the other hand, divisive dic- to systematically analyze and address dertaking a reorganization of Interior. I tates from the top that depart from these new and already-present threats? was interested in hearing what he had Interior’s core mission and value Hopefully, a future secretary and in mind, having developed some per- system drive wedges within the de- Congress will have an appetite to pur- spectives during my two tours of duty partment that no reorganization plan sue these ideas, and more. While they as the deputy secretary of the sprawling can overcome. Zinke’s full-throated are at it, they might take a cue from department and its 70,000 employees. push to achieve energy “dominance” former Republican and Democratic Despite the hype, much still re- by expanding fossil fuel development secretaries who urged that Interior be mains unknown about the secretary’s on public lands and in offshore wa- renamed to reinforce its mission area, plans. With the exception of one ters, and his political team’s efforts to by calling it the Department of Con- bright spot — Zinke’s proposal to ignore, or outright deny, the climate servation, the Department of Energy establish a common regional structure change impacts that already are pro- and Natural Resources or, my prefer- for all of the department’s bureaus — foundly impacting every corner of the ence: the Department of Natural and it is difficult not to be disappointed in department’s vast physical and scien- Cultural Resources. what remains a largely ill-defined plan tific dominion, illustrate the point. So there is a lot to discuss when it to meet unclear goals. On a brighter note, here are better comes to a potential reorganization. The concept of co-locating major reorganization ideas that future, less But like so many tough issues ad- regional offices in hub cities, and divisive administrations might pursue. dressed in the department, a successful adopting common regional boundaries A future secretary, for example, outcome depends on dispassionate, in- for all of Interior’s bureaus, is a good could accelerate the sharing, and lever- clusive analysis undertaken by knowl- one. The department works better aging, of land management functions edgeable, nonpartisan champions of when its bureaus have more oppor- and expertise that are now stove-piped Interior’s mission, complemented by tunities to interact with each other, in three major land management agen- congressional input and broad public particularly at the regional level, where cies in Interior (the Bureau of Land engagement. the vast majority of Interior’s resources Management, the National Park Sys- Perhaps Secretary Zinke’s plan will are allocated and difficult problems are tem, and the Fish and Wildlife refuge provide the spark to pull together such addressed and solved. system), and one at the Department of an effort. I will be the first to thank But there is little else to commend Agriculture (the Forest Service). Why him, if it does. the plan. The notion that a single, ro- not extend, for example, NPS’s ex- tating regional head from one bureau traordinary talent at welcoming visitors David J. Hayes is executive director of the should have decisionmaking authority to other land management agencies State Energy & Environmental Impact Center over other bureaus in contested, multi- that are underserving Americans who at New York University School of Law. He was bureau squabbles is a recipe for disas- crave more outdoor experiences? deputy secretary of the interior in the Clinton ter. Regional officials need to work Similarly, as President Obama and Obama administrations.

organization efforts, this proposal does best, therefore, the proposal offers a A Proposal Meant not implement a suggestion from an drastic and expensive solution to a to Hamstring outside evaluator, like a congressional non-problem. At worst, it threatens to oversight committee or an indepen- destabilize the existing power balance Agency Function dent commission. Rather, this proposal among bureaus, and between regions seemingly originated with political and headquarters, in favor of an ill- By Amanda Leiter appointees who are new to DOI and defined, untested, and one-sided new unfamiliar with its structure. structure. eorganizing the Department of That unfamiliarity is concerning The second flaw concerns the the Interior is a perennial because DOI’s unwieldy structure context for proposal development. project for new administra- represents a deliberate compromise The proposal comes on the heels of Rtions, likely due to the department’s among competing goals. Aspects of personnel and administrative actions size and reach. DOI manages over 400 that structure already advance the three that have alienated DOI’s dedicated million acres of land, employs over goals identified in the proposal (im- career staff. Over the last year, Zinke 70,000 people, and houses 11 separate proving bureau cooperation; increas- has involuntarily reassigned over 50 bureaus that work on issues of almost ing regional influence; and reducing senior employees, sometimes to areas unimaginable breadth, from protecting political oversight), but other structural outside their expertise. Moreover, as he endangered species, to managing na- elements promote contrasting goals, explained to Congress, he plans to use tional parks, to leasing mineral resourc- including reducing conflicts of interest, reassignments to reduce full-time staff es, to overseeing 183 tribal schools. establishing checks and balances, pro- (presumably through resignations). In The latest reorganization effort is moting democratic accountability, and addition, DOI suspended the activities Secretary Ryan Zinke’s proposal to sep- mitigating capture. of about 200 advisory panels — the arate DOI into 13 newly designated To take just a few examples, existing very panels that formerly brought a re- “unified regions.” Like past proposals, laws and regulations already require gional perspective to resource manage- this plan would generate winners and that multiple bureaus approve sig- ment decisions. Finally, in September, losers, and has received mixed reviews nificant land management decisions, Zinke publicly accused one-third of from employees, regulated entities, thereby ensuring bureau cooperation. his staff of disloyalty “to the flag” and and interest groups. In two respects, On the other hand, DOI divides promised “huge” restructuring. however, the current plan is far worse certain incompatible functions (like In this context, any effort to move than its predecessors: the process of mineral leasing, risk reduction, and or reassign large numbers of people and context for proposal development royalty collection) into separate bu- must be viewed with suspicion and make clear that this administration has reaus. This division, and the balance interpreted not as an effort to improve no real intention of improving DOI of power among the resulting bureaus, agency function but as a strategy to structure and function but instead ensures that each function gets proper encourage departures. In short, this hopes to sow confusion, destabilize attention, but no single function can context reveals the reorganization the department, and encourage staff overreach. proposal for what it really is: an effort departures. With respect to regional influence, to disrupt chains of command, and to According to DOI’s cursory expla- many bureaus assign field staff to their shift career personnel from jobs they nation, the proposed reorganization Washington offices on short-term have done well for years to locations will respond to certain “organizational details to share their perspectives, and and into roles where they will be less challenges,” including curtailing “un- some bureaus also employ regional comfortable and less expert, and hence necessary bureaucracy.” Under the councils to advise on resource man- more likely to leave DOI. If that is the proposal, DOI will assign staff from all agement. On the other hand, big secretary’s true aim, then this proposal bureaus to the 13 unified regions. Ap- decisions must still be made in Wash- may well succeed — but success will parently, regional chains of command ington, to guarantee that DOI remains come at great cost to DOI’s effective- will be defined by geography not sub- responsive to presidential priorities, ness and, in turn, to tribal interests and ject matter, thereby advancing three and to mitigate the risk that a regional to America’s precious cultural, mineral, goals: greater bureau cooperation; in- office will make decisions that benefit wildlife, wilderness, and open space creased regional influence; and reduced local constituencies at the expense of resources. political oversight. the broader public. The proposal is short on details, but The proposed reorganization in- Amanda Leiter is professor of law at American two significant flaws nevertheless stand cludes no details about whether and University. She served as deputy assistant out. The first relates to the process of how DOI intends to maintain these secretary of the interior for land and minerals proposal development. Unlike past re- existing structural protections. At in the Obama administration.

Powell provides compelling evidence cy, and moral right of the people who A Little Historical that he is predisposed to accept my lived in proximity to — and made Perspective on suggestion. some share of their living from — the Fourth, if we aim historical per- lands under federal management. By Interior’s Mission spective at Interior, the first recogni- contrast, believers in the “romance of tion to appear is a very positive one: centralized expertise” championed, By Patti Limerick the lands and natural resources under with an equal intensity of righteous the management of agencies located sentiment, the superior expertise and write to offer my personal grati- in the department represent a great greater claim on scientifically based tude to Ryan Zinke but also to legacy given to the Americans of the authority held by appointed officials, propose an improbable premise present by the Americans of the past. often stationed in offices distant from Ithat initially will make little sense but The second recognition is less heart- those lands. then will evolve into persuasiveness; ening: this magnificent inheritance And so, when Zinke put forward to suggest an essential next step that, comes in the same package with the his proposal to reorganize Interior, he if Secretary Zinke takes it, will go a unwieldy administrative entity called offered an affirmation of the fact that long way toward making my premise the Department of the Interior. these two systems of belief constantly carry force; to provide a glimpse of Interior’s agencies make an exact compete for the attention and loyalty the bigger picture that historical per- match to an under-utilized term of of Interior’s leadership. spective can provide; and to make a organizational analysis: they consti- Fifth, a case for embracing the case for consultation with historians tute a “hodgepodge,” or, as Merriam- historian’s gift for sensing ironic out- as the activation of an advance warn- Webster defines the term, “a hetero- comes on the horizon. Contemplating ing system for ironic outcomes. geneous mixture.” When Zinke rode Zinke’s vision for reorganization, the First, the gratitude. As a citizen on horseback to his first day at work, historians’ advance warning system who watches the Department of the he did indeed dismount into a het- for unintended consequences beeps Interior with the intense interest that erogeneous mixture of agencies and with some urgency on two counts. better-adjusted Americans reserve for bureaus. Pursuing the theoretical goal of sports teams, I am now unmistakably Newly arrived secretaries instantly recognizing and respecting local in the secretary’s debt. With his reor- find themselves charged with oversee- variations, the current plan seems ganization plan, he has dispelled the ing everything from the National Park headed toward a one-size-fits-all pre- boredom and ennui that usually set in Service’s trails and wildlife to Recla- scription for the creation of regional at the first mention of the word bu- mation’s dams and reservoirs, from administrative units. And aimed at reaucracy. His proposal has stirred up the U.S. Geological Survey’s sensitive goals of efficiency, economizing, and a lively round of public deliberation studies of climate change to the Bu- streamlining, the plan seems much on Interior’s mission and structure, reau of Land Management’s leases for more likely to direct time and atten- and the prospects for engaging my fel- subsurface (onshore and offshore) oil tion to the production of memos and low citizens in energetic conversation and gas development. directives, preparations for testimony are correspondingly enhanced. Thus, historical perspective and to congressional committees, and the Second, the improbable premise. the secretary’s viewpoint at least mo- crafting of responses to litigation, In a nation fragmented by specializa- mentarily coincide: his proposal for not to mention expenses and expen- tion as much as by polarization, con- reorganizing Interior responds to a ditures that will achieve an elevation templating Interior’s agglomeration genuine dilemma presented by our that dwarfs the mountains of Inte- of agencies with wildly disparate mis- inheritance from our predecessors rior’s landscapes. sions offers a wondrous opportunity on the planet. It is perfectly natural Hanging out with historians could to find — and embrace — alterna- for a secretary to exclaim, “How can reduce these risks significantly. And tives to the shouting matches that anyone possibly expect me to manage here’s the best news of all: we cost dominate civic discussion in 2018. such a hodgepodge?” dramatically less than management Third, Zinke’s essential next step. In the 20th century, the imple- consultants. To permit that cheerful premise to mentation of conservation practices in Usually, we are just flattered to be gear up for action, the secretary must Interior’s land management agencies asked. invite historians to play a central role had to proceed while responding to in the process of deliberation that he two contrasting frameworks of strong Patty Limerick is the faculty director and has initiated. His frequently expressed opinion. Believers in what we will call chair of the board of the Center of the Ameri- admiration for Theodore Roosevelt “the romance of local control” en- can West at the University of Colorado, where and for the explorer John Wesley dorsed the superior wisdom, legitima- she is also a professor of history.

Shortly after his confirmation, Secre- improve knowledge sharing and col- Interior Needs tary Ryan Zinke pressed for a major laboration. to Foster “Value- reorganization of the 70,000-person Third, reorganization is not free. department. He sought to hold people Political costs, practical costs, and Creating Networks” accountable, improve permitting ef- “people” costs accompany reorganiza- ficiency, and enhance collaboration tions. And there are dollar costs. Esti- By Lynn Scarlett across the department’s multiple bu- mates of long-term costs for reorgani- reaus at some 2,400 locations. zation as envisioned by Secretary Zinke ederal land management has been These management goals ring fa- have ranged as high as $1 billion. a saga of tensions at the delicate miliar. They mirror qualities heralded Successful management improve- interface of people and places. in public administration primers and ments hinge on having clear goals, FThe Department of the Interior’s mis- sought after by various secretaries as good information about current struc- sion lies at this confluence, with its they strived to better fulfill the depart- tures and processes, and an assessment tensions and the challenges and op- ment’s mission involving competing of management options and what portunities they beget. Should snow- goals that often arouse strong passions trade-offs accompany them. These mobiles traverse Yellowstone? Where among diverse constituents. are not idle questions. McKinsey & might ranchers graze their cattle? Or As Secretary Zinke strives to ad- Company research reveals that fewer where might we find energy to warm vance this reorganization, three points than 25 percent of restructuring efforts our houses? And who should decide? merit emphasis. succeed. The Interior Department makes First, the challenges of coordination Zinke describes a Washington- these decisions amid a tapestry of are real, but overstated. Through grass- centric organization. But is that so? rights and responsibilities on lands roots and Interior initiatives, the past Some 6,500 of Interior employees (less comprising some 500 million acres couple decades have seen new forms of than 10 percent) work in the capital and increasingly involving landscape- governance characterized by networks, area. Many more work in dispersed scale issues. Fire, water, species protec- collaboration, and partnerships. It is field locations. He has also described tion, and energy production all present easy to recall the Bundy episodes and a department top-heavy with senior challenges that extend beyond lines imagine these deep tensions are the management, which he would replace on a map or ownership patterns and norm, while forgetting the inspiring with junior employees. Yet just 300, have deepened the impetus for col- federal, tribal, state, local, public, and or less than .5 percent, are within the laboration across agencies and with the private partnerships advancing eco- ranks of the Senior Executive Service. private sector. nomic and environmental outcomes And zeroing in on grade levels may be Thus, a central question for the de- in efforts like the Blackfoot Challenge the wrong focus. What Interior needs partment is how to collaborate across in Montana and others. These efforts are skillsets in systems-thinking, col- boundaries and among agencies. And have emerged organically, tailored to laboration, and the ability to nurture how managers might strengthen the needs, with Interior agencies serving as what management expert Gary Hamel voices of communities amid varying boots-on-the-ground partners. calls “value-creating networks.” These priorities, preferences, and perceptions. Second, I am reminded of econo- skills often spring from years of em- These questions have prompted mist Thomas Sowell’s quip that “there ployee experiences addressing complex secretaries over three decades to try are no solutions; there are only trade- problems involving people with many to improve coordination, enhance ef- offs.” Good management is a balanc- perspectives. Interior needs people ficiency, operate at relevant scales of ing act among attributes often in with these decades of experience. action, and strengthen participatory tension: a desire for innovation versus Don’t get me wrong — there is processes. The Clinton administration consistency; decentralization versus always room for management im- configured some decisions around uniformity and decision discipline; or provements. Landscape-level problems watersheds. The George W. Bush efficiency versus community building. require agency coordination at scales administration highlighted “Coopera- MITRE Corporation observes that commensurate with those problems. tive Conservation,” strengthening the “a first instinct may be to believe . . . But restructuring can bring high costs role of collaboration and co-locating that moving organizational ‘boxes and and fail to deliver the decision pro- bureaus. Obama established Landscape lines’ will create improved results. But cesses, people development, and tools Conservation Cooperatives comprising . . . structure is only one component needed for Hamel’s networks. multiple agencies, tribes, and others to of a complex organizational system.” develop shared goals and relevant sci- These components include perfor- The Nature Conservancy’s Lynn Scarlett ence around large-landscape issues. mance measures, incentive systems, served as deputy secretary of the interior in And, now, we have another effort. decision processes — mechanisms that the George W. Bush administration.

changes over the years. In response role in determining how such resourc- Don’t Just Shuffle to the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the es within their borders are allocated Offices: Give Local department began co-locating staff and used. They also have a direct stake from BLM and other federal agencies — via royalties and other economic Officials Teeth to minimize duplication of effort in benefits of development — in just environmental reviews and expedite how the federal resources within their By Peter Schaumberg decisions. Congress further mandated boundaries are utilized. States are jus- inter-agency collaboration under the tifiably concerned that creating multi- ecretary Ryan Zinke’s conceptual FAST Act of 2015 to facilitate energy state eco-regional decisionmaking reorganization proposals inspire and infrastructure projects, including bodies superior to state offices would cautious optimism, but to be on federally managed lands. upset the existing balance. Ssuccessful the plans need teeth to While these efforts sometimes suc- The secretary is also considering achieve the presumptive goal: more ceeded in shortening environmental moving BLM and other bureau head- timely and efficient decisionmaking. reviews, benefits have been limited, quarters to the western states. Moving The secretary of the interior must even where only DOI bureaus were DOI senior managers closer to the reconcile multiple, often competing, involved. For example, if BLM is pri- public lands they oversee has merit, and sometimes mutually exclusive marily responsible for completing an but presents a somewhat converse risk responsibilities when facilitating re- environmental impact statement for of making management of nationally source development on public lands. a major project, but Fish and Wild- owned lands too localized. Because These may range from a large-scale life Service biologists are dilatory in policy governing federally managed oil-and-gas project, or a plan for de- completing ESA consultation, BLM lands historically emanates from velopment of other leasable minerals, lacks supervisory authority over the Washington, those relocated managers or hardrock claims located under the co-located FWS personnel to avoid risk being cut off from national policy Mining Law. protracted decisionmaking delays. discussion and perspective, even as Such projects are at the intersec- DOI surely would benefit from they are expected to implement Wash- tion of the secretary’s multiple-use further organizational efficiencies to ington’s policies on the ground. mandates, responsibilities under the reduce longstanding problems stem- Whether these physical moves Endangered Species Act, statutory ming from fragmented and slow occur or the current structure is just obligations to protect the nation’s decisionmaking. As an example, BLM tweaked, the secretary should ensure parks and wildlife refuges, and trust often has several district offices within that regional or local managers remain responsibility to manage resources for a single state office, with multiple field closely involved in the formulation of the benefit of Native Americans. Lay- offices within each district. As opera- agency policy and, more importantly, ered on these competing demands are tors on public lands have long experi- are vested with the authority to re- the external interests of other federal enced, this multiplicity of responsibili- quire that co-located representatives of resource agencies, including the Army ties results in inconsistent application all DOI agencies are held accountable Corps of Engineers, and the Forest of policies and regulations within even for timely implementation of their Service. a single state. But simply eliminat- respective responsibilities. DOI organizational changes are ing state offices will not resolve these Reorganization holds the promise not new. Following Deepwater Hori- problems. for beneficial change. But it will take zon, Secretary Ken Salazar reorganized The secretary has created a stir in more than simply reshuffling office the former Minerals Management Congress and among the states by locations to facilitate timely actions Service into (forgive the acronyms) suggesting eco-regional administra- relating to development of the nation’s BOEM, BSEE, and ONRR, with the tive boundaries for new DOI offices mineral and other resources. While last, revenue-collection office reas- in the West. This would parallel the expediency is the end goal, the depart- signed under the assistant secretary administrative boundaries of certain ment and Congress should assess the for policy, management, and budget. Interior and other agencies, and is at- pros and cons of any reorganization MMS was itself created by the stroke tractive from a planning or high-level plan slowly and thoughtfully. of the secretary’s pen in the early resource-management perspective. But 1980s. But the mixed results of these reducing the role of state-level players Peter Schaumberg spent 25 years in DOI’s Of- efforts caution that not all organiza- could frustrate decisionmaking that is fice of the Solicitor, where he was responsible tional reform reduces inefficiency and responsive to the needs of the people for providing legal advice to the minerals pro- confusion. who most use federally managed natu- grams of the BLM, MMS, and other agencies. The Bureau of Land Management ral resources. He currently is a principal in the Washington, has seen more modest organizational States currently play a significant D.C., office of Beveridge & Diamond, P.C.

from other departments, possibly in- aware that we could not tackle the Encouraging cluding NOAA and the Forest Service, state’s pressing resource issues without Federal-State Zinke has proposed to establish 13 the active cooperation of our federal “joint management areas” based on counterparts. California has its own Partnership Key the natural delineation of ecosystems, endangered species act, state park watersheds, and landscapes. The admi- system, historic preservation program, By Doug Wheeler rable intent is to foster closer working water resources department, and pro- relationships among disparate DOI cedural mandates. It made no sense to s Richard Nixon developed an agencies with responsibilities for the administer redundant programs if, by ambitious environmental agen- management of a shared resource, sharing resources and expertise with da after becoming president in presumably reducing conflict and pro- agencies of the Department of the In- 1969,A he thought, also, of the need for moting effective cooperation within a terior, we could achieve better resource reorganization of the executive branch designated resource area. outcomes at lower cost. to address emerging issues of air and This realignment would be an im- Thus, with the cooperation of sec- water pollution, land use, and natural portant step in the right direction, long retaries of the interior in Republican resource management. In The Morn- sought by conservation biologists and and Democratic administrations, we ing After Earth Day, Mary Graham others who argue persuasively that the were able to merge the management concurs that “these newly prominent current array of agencies along state of state and national redwood parks; issues confound the normal workings and regional boundaries does not cor- to develop an ESA-compliant Natural of government.” To correct these in- respond to the dictates of effective eco- Communities Conservation Program; stitutional deficiencies, the incoming system management. So far so good. to create a California Biodiversity president sought advice of his transi- But, predictably, those who fear the Council and to design a CalFed Bay- tion team and an Advisory Council on effects of this reconfiguration, includ- Delta Program, among other joint ini- Executive Reorganization. ing state governments, have objected tiatives, all of which are more effective The transition team had initially to the Zinke plan. By disrupting the than if they had been attempted by recommended a new Department of old order, they suggest, the secretary’s the participating state or federal agen- Environment and Natural Resources. proposal would sever well-established cies alone. Today, such federal-state But the advisory council demurred, relationships with federal officials, and joint ventures, usually with private and proposed instead the establish- make access to the department more sector partners, are commonplace in ment of an Environmental Protection difficult. In response to these concerns, other states and regions, including the Agency and a Department of Natural Zinke appears to have abandoned his 10-state sage grouse initiative, the five- Resources, to consist of four divisions: preference for ecosystem boundaries. state Range Wide Plan for manage- land and recreation; water resources; If so, he has relinquished the most ment of lesser prairie chicken habitat, energy and mineral resources; and oce- compelling argument for an internal and the Pecos Watershed Conservation anic, atmospheric, and earth sciences. reorganization of the department. Initiative in Texas and New Mexico. EPA was promptly established, but The states are understandably If Secretary Zinke encounters con- like earlier attempts to reshape the De- concerned about any plan for reorga- tinued opposition to his reorganization partment of the Interior by Presidents nization which would impede, rather plans, as did his predecessors, he would Franklin Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover, than facilitate, increased cooperation be well-advised to pursue instead a vir- and Lyndon Johnson, the Nixon pro- with the federal government on issues tual restructuring of the department, posal for Natural Resources fell on deaf of resource management within their in which its agencies and employees ears, occasioned by the entrenched boundaries. But believing strongly in are encouraged to seek common iron triangle of Congress, interested the benefit of such cooperation as a ground with their counterparts in state constituencies, and civil servants in its result of long experience at the Depart- and local government and the private defense of the status quo. ment of the Interior and as a state re- sector. They are — after all — only a Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke source official in California, I am con- phone call or e-mail message away. is similarly interested in transforma- vinced that state boundaries and the tion of his department, in order to physical location of regional offices are Doug Wheeler is senior counsel with Hogan provide — he says — more efficient not nearly so important as a mutual Lovells US LLP in Washington. His 49-year ca- service to its diverse constituencies, a commitment to open communication reer in conservation, historic preservation, and closer connection to the resources for and effective collaboration. natural resource management has included which it is responsible, and cost sav- Upon arriving in Sacramento to senior assignments at the U.S. Department ings. Although he has not yet proposed serve as Governor Pete Wilson’s sec- of the Interior and the California Resources to assimilate natural resource agencies retary for resources, I quickly became Agency.