Clearwater Defender News of the Big Wild A Publication of Fall 2007, Vol. 4 No.6 Friends of the Clearwater Issued Quartely ORIGINAL RESEARCH Inside This Issue: Bill Berkowitz June 19, 2007 Original research J. Steven Griles did the crime but doesn’t Page 1 By bill berkowitz want to do the time Former Interior Department Deputy Secre- Motorized Madness Stopped tary who pleaded guilty earlier in connection by Forest Service at Meadow with Jack Abramoff looking for ‘sentence’ of Page 6 working for anti-environmental group instead Creek By gary macfarlane of five years in the pokey J. Steven Griles was convicted earlier this year of withholding information from the Senate In- FLOATING THE WILD dian Affairs Committee in 2005 about his meeting Page 8 SELWAY RIVER Jack Abramoff. Facing a possible five-year jail by Scott Phillips sentence, Griles has enlisted a small army of the well-connected who are petitioning the sentencing Judge for leniency, while Griles himself is ask- ing for community service -- part of which time Western Perspective: for would be served working with the American Rec- reation Coalition and the Walt Disney Company. Pageshifting 12 fire policy to be suc- Griles is scheduled for sentencing on June 26. cessful, it must include a The career lobbyist is the second-highest-level holistic view of wildfire Bush administration official to be caught up in the by will boyd ongoing Department of Justice investigation of former Republican Party uber-lobbyist, the cur- rently imprisoned Jack Abramoff. Griles, the for- mer Interior Deputy Secretary who, according to The Wolves Today SourceWatch, “oversaw the Bush administration’s Page 15by Sioux westervelt push to open more public land to energy develop- ment,” doesn’t think he deserves jail time. Evi- dently this is one situation in which Griles prefers not to follow Abramoff’s lead. In an effort to avoid doing time, Griles and his legal team have developed a two-pronged strategy: Line up a host of A-listers to send letters to D.C. District Judge, Ellen Huvelle, seeking leniency; See Research, Page 1 Research, continued from Page 1 The Clearwater Defender is a publication of: and personally petition the judge to be sentenced to a fine, three months home confinement, and 500 hours of community service with the Ameri- can Recreation Coalition (ARC), a Washington- Friends of the Clearwater based non-profit organization formed in 1979, PO Box 9241 and the Walt Disney Company. Moscow, ID 83843 “It’s not difficult to imagine that Griles may (208) 882-9755 soon be working for the ARC,” said Scott Silver, [email protected] http://www.wildrockies.org/foc the executive director of Wild Wilderness, an Or- egon-based grassroots environmental organization Friends of the Clearwater, a recognized non-profit organiza- who has been tracking these matters for years. “It tion since 1987, defends the Idaho Clearwater Bioregion’s is, after all, a perfect match-up since they already wild lands and biodiversity through a Forest Watch program, enjoy the benefits of what has been more than a litigation, grassroots public involvement, outreach, and 20 year working relationship.” education. The Wild Clearwater Country, the northern half Griles “was involved in efforts to help two of of central Idaho’s Big Wild, contains many unprotected Abramoff’s clients -- the Louisiana Coushatta roadless areas and wild rivers, and provides crucial habitat tribe and the Saginaw Chippewa tribe of Michi- for countless rare plant and animal species. Friends of the gan -- fend off casino proposals from rival tribes Clearwater strives to protect these areas, restore degraded habitats, preserve viable populations of native species, rec- and may have done so while engaged in employ- ognize national and international wildlife corridors, and to ment negotiations with Abramoff, recent news bring an end to commodity extraction and industrialization reports have said. Griles has said through spokes- on our public lands. people that he did not play a major role in endeav- Friends of the Clearwater is a 501(c)(3) non-profit or- ors to aid the tribes,” The Hill’s Josephine Hearn ganization. All contributions the Friends of the Clearwater has reported. are tax-deductible. “Although Griles initially denied doing any The Clearwater Defender welcomes artwork and articles favors for Abramoff’s casino-owning Indian tribe pertaining to the protection of the Greater Salmon-Selway clients, court records show that Griles inserted Ecosystem. Articles in the Clearwater Defender do not himself into several casino cases at Interior,” necessarily reflect the views of Friends of the Clearwater. Greenwire’s Dan Berman recently pointed out. Board Members: “In March, Griles pleaded guilty to withhold- Chris Norden, President Jim Tarter ing information from the Senate Indian Affairs Lynne Nelson, Vice President Leslie Einhaus See Research, Page 3 Michelle Hazen, Secretary Julian Matthews Dean Stewart, Treasurer Steve Paulson Jeanne Clothiaux Greg Gollberg Ecosystem Defense Director: Gary Macfarlane Education Director: Will Boyd Layout & Design: Amy Steele, Outreach Intern Photography: Chuck Pezeshki, unless otherwise noted Editor: Steve Paulson It is nowFor easyyou toand give your $1-$10 Friends per month. This kindSustainability of giving means consistent pro- tection for the Clearwater Basin’s wild- Printed on 100% post con- lands. sumer recycled paper made without the use of harmful visit our monthly donor link at www.Friendsoftheclearwater.org chlorine bleaching agents. Defender 2 Research, continued from Page 2 Interior Department to investigate Griles. With Committee in 2005 about his meeting Abramoff Republicans in control of congressional commit- through Italia Federici, president of the Council tees, no subpoenas have interrupted the Griles of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy scandals.” (CREA - website). Griles was dating Federici at Dan Berman pointed out that “The felony the time.” Earlier this month, Federici pleaded charge could land Griles in prison for a maxi- guilty to tax and perjury charges and agreed to mum five years and carry a $250,000 fine. Justice cooperate with the government’s wide-ranging Department attorneys recommended a 10-month Abramoff probe. sentence. Half of that would be served in a federal According to TPMMuckraker.com, the prosecu- prison, according to DOJ’s nonbinding recom- tors sentencing memo pointed out “how Griles mendation to the court.” In a follow-up piece was Abramoff’s man in Interior, providing a con- dated June 18, Berman reported that “the head stant stream of confidential information valuable of the American Recreation Coalition said the to Abramoff’s tribal clients. In return, Abramoff motorized recreation group made no monetary or helped Griles’ many lady friends: channeling future employment promises to Griles in connec- $500,000 into ... Federici’s right-wing group, the tion with his unusual request to serve community Council of Republicans for Environmental Advo- service with an ARC-run nonprofit group associ- cacy, and interviewing two others for possible jobs ated with Interior and corporations including the with Abramoff’s lobbying firm...” Walt Disney Co.” In “Crimes Against Nature,” published in the December 11, 2003 issue of Rolling Stone, Robert 91 letters supporting leniency F. Kennedy Jr. detailed some of Griles’ activities: Then, there are the letters supporting Griles. “During the first Reagan administration, Griles “The 91 letters ... reflect his friendships and con- worked directly under James Watt at Interior, tacts made through an extensive career in govern- where he helped the coal industry evade prohibi- ment and industry, including three former Interior tions against mountaintop-removal strip mining.” secretaries and a litany of senior former govern- In 1989, “Griles left government to work as a ment officials and industry executives,” Berman mining executive and then as a lobbyist with Na- pointed out. tional Environmental Strategies, a Washington, “The reality of Steve Griles is in many ways dif- D.C., firm that represented the National Mining ferent from the public perception,” wrote former Association and Dominion Resources, one of the Interior Secretary Gale Norton. “His powerful nation’s largest power producers.” size and bearing seem intimidating, but those “When Griles got his new job at Interior, the who know him realize he is a compassionate and National Mining Association hailed him as ‘an caring person. He helped co-workers who were ally of the industry.’ It’s bad enough that a former struggling. He was encouraging and upbeat when mining lobbyist was put in charge of regulating people got discouraged.” mining on public land. But it turns out that Griles Norton added: “Many men would have difficul- is still on the industry’s payroll. In 2001, he sold ty working with a woman as a superior, especially his client base to his partner Marc Himmelstein a woman he had once outranked. Steve instead for four annual payments of $284,000, making was supportive and encouraging. We had one of Griles, in effect, a continuing partner in the firm.” the best, if not the best, working relationships of “Because Griles was an oil and mining lobby- any secretary and deputy secretary in the admin- ist, the Senate made him agree in writing that he istration.” would avoid contact with his former clients as a Idaho Gov. Butch Otter (R) wrote about riding condition of his confirmation. Griles has never- horses with Griles in Idaho and Washington’s theless repeatedly met with former coal clients to Rock Creek Park. “We have shared many trails, discuss new rules allowing mountaintop mining and I have come to recognize that he is a genuine in Appalachia and destructive coal-bed methane man who is proud of his service to the people of drilling in Wyoming. He also met with his former our nation,” Otter wrote. oil clients about offshore leases. These meet- ings prompted Sen. Joseph Lieberman to ask the See Research, Page 4 Defender 3 Research, continued from Page 3 earlier in response to the gas-crisis of 1979.