Hearing of the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee - The Nomination of Thomas Strickland to be Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife and Parks

CHAIRED BY: SENATOR BARBARA BOXER (D-CA)

WITNESS: THE NOMINEE TESTIFIES

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SEN. BOXER: (In progress) -- 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'm so pleased to see someone so strongly committed to protecting these resources under consideration for this very key position.

If you're 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'm 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 and 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's 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 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 had caused, and this is the IG speaking, not me, quote, "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's right, what's wrong. And we all want science to prevail. That's 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, quote, "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," unquote.

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've reduced law enforcement, they've 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 long-term 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's going to work well with both sides of the aisle.

And with that, I turn to my ranking member, the esteemed Ranking Member, Jim Inhofe and after his statement --

SEN. JAMES INHOFE (R-OK): All right.

SEN. BOXER: -- at that time, we will go to the introduction.

SEN. INHOFE: Thank you, Madame 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. I'm troubled by the Services' 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'm 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, Madame Chairman, I'd like to put the entire opening statement in the record. What I'd like to do, I'm going to try to be here during question-and-answer time, but should I not in your opening statement, the commitment that 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, and I wanted to get on this record and if you would make that statement perhaps in your opening remarks.

What I'm going to try to do is to get back here, Madame Chairman, in time for questions. All right?

SEN. BOXER: Yes, absolutely.

SEN. INHOFE: Thank you.

SEN. BOXER: We're not going to have any more opening statements except that Senator Carper wanted to give a welcome. So --

SEN. THOMAS CARPER (D-DE): Mr. Strickland, welcome. I think I've seen you before. It's nice to see you here today especially sitting with Mark Udall. We're delighted you're here and appreciate your willingness to take this on.

Thank you. I'll have more to say later, but we're glad you're here.

SEN. BOXER: Is that it? Are you done? Okay.

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'll get into your opening statement and then we'll hear from our colleagues.

Go ahead.

SEN. MARK UDALL (D-CO): Good morning, Madame Chairwoman and Ranking Member Inhofe. Madame Chairwoman, if I could, I'd ask for unanimous consent for my formal statement to be included in the record.

SEN. BOXER: Absolutely.

SEN. UDALL: Thank you, Madame Chairwoman.

Just two 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 still happens to be a Coloradan. Today, I have the honor of introducing another Coloradan, Tom Strickland, to be the next Assistant Secretary of Fish and Wildlife and Parks for the Department of Interior, and I would tell you that I'm 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'll excuse me for indulging in a bit of home state pride, it is, I think, exciting to see so many Coloradans who've 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's been able to draw such talent.

It's 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's here with him today who's inspirational in her own right and her own successes.

I mentioned 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 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 '80s, he served as then-Governor Lamm's chief policy adviser and he worked on all policy and intergovernmental issues, and from 1985 to '89, 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 JD from the University of Texas School of Law with honors.

Now, Madame 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 '80s and '90s called Great Outdoors Colorado, which directed state lottery monies to the acquisition of public lands for parks, open space and conservation. Tom led that charge and it's now a model for the rest of the country. He's an accomplished outdoorsman. We both have a deep love for the outdoors and the history and the people and the landscapes of the West. Now, 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 United States Senate.

Madame Chair, I want to end with a reference to Tom Friedman whom I'm often influenced by his thinking and his writing and over this last weekend, Mr. Friedman reminded us of the value of inspirational leadership. And he quoted Doug 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." And I'm mentioning 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 inspiration 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'm very pleased to support his confirmation. And it's truly an honor to introduce him today. Thank you.

SEN. BOXER: Senator Udall, thank you so much for being here. And I know everybody has hectic business to attend to, so we understand if you need to leave and we're delighted that Senator Bennet is here and we're thrilled.

SEN. MICHAEL BENNET (D-CO): Thank you, Madame Chair.

I would only echo what my senior Senator has said from our state. Tom Strickland is one of the finest public servants that's ever been produced by the state of Colorado. He's a person for 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. And so I've been able to see him --

SEN. BOXER: You better be careful. You better support everything he wants to do.

(Cross talk.)

SEN. BENNET: I know. I will. 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's coming after us, that we preserve and protect our public lands. And it's 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'm incredibly proud to be here today to support his confirmation.

Thank you.

SEN. BOXER: Thank you so much. And with that, we will turn to our nominee and then in the order of arrival, we'll turn to other Senators Udall, Carper, Klobuchar, Lautenberg. Just vote for the one nearest you, that's what I think. Okay.

MR. STRICKLAND: Thank you, Chairman Boxer, Senator Inhofe and members of the committee.

I'm 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'm 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've 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've spent the majority of my career in Colorado where I've 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 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'm 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 can now proudly look back at Great Outdoors Colorado and the fact that it's 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, I believe, 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 out of doors, 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 famous enormous pressures from population growth and climate change. I believe we must develop a strategic plan to assure 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're still working on it, but from Acadia to Great Smoky Mountains to Yosemite, we've enjoyed most of them. They are as Wallace Stegner famously said, "America's best idea," and 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 request of the minority with the same attention and responsiveness as those of the majority.

Thank you, Chairman.

SEN. BOXER: Thank you so much, Mr. Strickland, and we all support that. We've been in the minority and we know how it feels. And we need to have the same respect as everybody else. So I definitely support that and I thank you for presenting that.

Senator Udall?

SEN. TOM UDALL (D-NM): Thank you, Madame Chair and 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 thing that I want -- the first thing 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'm wrong, but we're 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've got incredible credentials and I know that you're 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, and so my hope in a way is that -- and I know you have 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're two very, very important positions and I just think they're -- it's difficult to do both of those.

I know that you can do them for a significant period of time, but that's my hope is that because there's so much that needs to be done -- and really my first question and then I'd like you to also talk about the issue of how you see consensus building in dealing with these environmental issues that are before you, both in Parks and Fish and Wildlife and Endangered Species, but do you believe you'd 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, Madame Chairman, I haven't been sworn in and I just want to make sure as I go forward that I --

SEN. BOXER: We don't need to swear you in.

MR. STRICKLAND: That's fine. On that basis --

SEN. BOXER: This isn't the inauguration where you have to remember that -- (laughs).

MR. STRICKLAND: Okay. Thank you.

SEN. BOXER: You're fine. What we do have to do is ask you a couple of questions for the record before it ends.

MR. STRICKLAND: Very good.

SEN. BOXER: You're in good shape.

MR. STRICKLAND: Very good.

SEN. UDALL: You can also see he's a fine lawyer and trying to give us a little advice here on the side.

SEN. BOXER: I think -- absolutely, absolutely.

MR. STRICKLAND: Well, Chief Justice Roberts is a former law partner of mine.

SEN. BOXER: Oh, is that right?

MR. STRICKLAND: Process --

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): Did you advise him on the word, faithfully? (Laughs.)

MR. STRICKLAND: I won't claim any responsibility for that.

Senator Udall, first of all, I want to -- to be considered for a position in the Department of Interior and to be in the same room with the son of one of the great Secretaries of Interior of all time, Stewart Udall, I have to pay homage to your father's tremendous legacy, and the Department will always reflect his stewardship. And so I just want to acknowledge that and certainly your uncle as well, Mark's father, and his contributions. And 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's what he asked me to do and so he's pretty persuasive. I have been in the role of chief of staff since January 21, and so I've been helping the Senator as the transition has been undertaken and as we've tried to recruit and get through the confirmation process of the team.

I will commit to this committee, as I did to the Energy and Natural Resource Committee, that my first priority will be the responsibilities of this assistant secretary position, and 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 of the Fish and Wildlife and Parks Department, and if there's any conflict, then I will make further adjustments. But my primary focus will be on the responsibilities for the position that I'm in front of you all here today.

With respect to the second part of your question and the role of consensus in resolving these issues, I completely agree with you and I believe that, you know, in particular, 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're 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, and 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 these tasks and I will commit to you that I'll do my best to further that.

SEN. UDALL: Thank you for those answers. Thank you.

SEN. BOXER: Thank you. Now, Senator Carper has very sweetly yielded to Senator Lautenberg for a couple of minutes. So --

SEN. FRANK LAUTENBERG (D-NJ): I'll be brief and say hello, Tom. We have known each other for some time, and Tom Strickland called me one 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 three years for violation -- and correct me if I'm wrong, but be careful -- and we've had a lot of contact.

The one thing I know, and my friend Mark Udall has responsibility for two beautiful grandchildren and my son and daughter-in-law who live in Colorado, and we are tree huggers, nature lovers, call it what you will and I know that we share the same view on our responsibility to nature and our responsibility to the environment.

Madame Chairman, I have a longer statement, which I'll not read out of gratitude for the forbearance of my colleague from Delaware, some questions and just one that we're very excited in New Jersey now. I look out to the mountains of New Jersey -- well, hills from New Jersey, our mountain -- the highest mountain in New Jersey is 800 feet and it's 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's a city I grew up in Paterson, New Jersey, industrial town, abused by industry, factories use the river as a way to discharge effluence and we're all so proud of that. And Mr. Assistant Chief of Staff, I hope that you'll 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, and I hope that you'll come and visit us in Paterson to welcome our newest national historic park. And as a addendum, Alexander Hamilton began his influence on the Industrial Revolution in Paterson and we still see raceways that funnel the water to factories and provide the energy and power. And we welcome you and Beth Strickland to this assignment and I know very well that you'll handle it well. And 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.

SEN. BOXER: Thank you.

SEN. LAUTENBERG: And thank you, Senator Carper.

SEN. BOXER: Senator Carper?

MR. STRICKLAND: Thank you, Senator, and I will look forward to visiting the new park and we're very excited about it.

SEN. CARPER: Well, that's a great segue to my question. You quoted -- 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.

The president came and spoke with us yesterday, by the way, at our caucus and talked about his budget and in responding to him, I suggested some ways we could save money. And he has come up with ways to spend money, and actually, I think in his budget to make very wise investments for the most part. But the idea of you serving as chief of staff and as the assistant secretary in the post, that's a good way to save money. And 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's doing the work of two senators. And I asked Harry Reid our leader --

SEN. KLOBUCHAR: Well, compared to Delaware, a woman can always do the work of two men. (Laughter.)

SEN. BOXER: And two women in California with 37 million people --

SEN. KLOBUCHAR: Oh, here we go. I should have let it go --

SEN. BOXER: -- can do the work of several men, but --

SEN. CARPER: I yield back my time. (Laughter.)

SEN. BOXER: But we'll strike that all from the record.

We're going to give you as a result of having to put up with Amy and me an extra two minutes. (Laughter.)

SEN. CARPER: I was the only Senator from Delaware for five days after Joe Biden stepped down, and I said to Harry Reid, our leader, I said, you know, Harry, I'm doing the work of two people and do you think maybe I can for five days get paid for both of us? And he said you're lucky to get one paycheck, pal. So I'm taking abuse from all sides.

Earlier in your comments, you quoted Wallace Stegner who once said -- described national parks as America's best idea. And I don't know that it's the best idea, but it's certainly a great idea. My family and I have been privileged to visit national parks in many places around the country.

My boys are now in college, one of them was actually here yesterday, he spent the day -- he's 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, 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 seven, eight, nine, 10 days there and 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 have national parks to visit and one state, ironically, did not and it's a state where America's best idea, which is I think is our Constitution was first adopted. And for a whole week or so, Delaware was the United States of America. We were the first state to ratify the Constitution and we've done a whole lot of other things as well that we think are deserving of recognition and of a national park, but we've 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 into a study, funding for a study and that's been completed. That's been completed. The study was presented late last year by some very fine people who work at the National Park Service and recommending a national park in Delaware, but it was a different kind of approach, but one that celebrates our national heritage.

And one of Dirk Kempthorne -- one of his hopes was before he finished -- left as secretary that he could wrap it up and finish. We still need to pass authorizing legislation through the Congress and my hope is we'll be able to do that and move forward.

I just want to bring this to your attention. A friend, Ken Burns, famous filmmaker who lives in New England now -- actually grew up in Delaware. And one of his latest creation as you probably know is called -- I think it's 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 this country is the last state to actually to be eligible for a park. And I just want to put all of that at your doorstep today and just ask for your thoughts.

MR. STRICKLAND: Well, thank you, Senator and I've 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's going to create an unprecedented, additional level of support for the park system as that rolls out this fall. And I would commit to work closely with you and I'm sure the Secretary will as well to remedy the fact that there's 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.

SEN. CARPER: Good. I appreciate that commitment and we'll look forward to working with you and this administration as 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 initiatives.

You've not seen anything yet and so I appreciate the commitment from both of you.

And Madame Chair, I have a statement for the record, and with that, I'll bid you adieu and wish you good luck.

MR. STRICKLAND: Thank you, Senator.

SEN. BOXER: Thank you, Senator. Senator Klobuchar.

SEN. KLOBUCHAR: Thank you very much, Madame 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 college hockey arena, that's a Minnesota analogy. It's 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 well 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; and that, secondly, we have an opportunity and I know that 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 Voyagers 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 are -- there's 750 million (dollars) 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 (dollars), is slated for replacing facilities and cleaning up mine sites. And 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 working with OMB to refine a list of projects for the 750 million (dollars) 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 calls the treasured landscapes and special places in America, as well as promoting youth programs.

So those are some additional areas of emphasis that we're trying to accommodate as we go through the list of potential projects. We have what's been estimated to be a $9 billion backlog of deferred maintenance in the park system. So while 750 million (dollars) sounds like a lot and is a lot, in the context of the needs, it's -- we have many more deserving projects than we have immediately available dollars.

So we're working to have -- and, 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're trying to accommodate all of those considerations. And we don't have a list to share yet, but we will shortly and we are literally in what we hope to be at the final stages of review with OMB, and I think that they're going to show wide geographic diversity and honor these priorities.

So I'll be happy to work with you. We're going to post all that on the Internet and we'll be making announcements as we get the final signoff from OMB.

SEN. KLOBUCHAR: Thank you. The national parks have always been a part of my family's history. Actually, as I was sitting there, 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, as I mentioned, have parks in Minnesota.

And could you talk a little bit about how you believe, which is a big issue in our state, how you balance the multiple uses of parks, whether it's some grandfathered in trails, things like that? We've 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've been able to work that.

But could you talk a little bit about multiple uses in parks?

MR. STRICKLAND: I'd be happy to, Senator. It is the central premise of our public lands to honor the concept of multiple use now as to certain lands -- and this omnibus lands bill reflects, I think, the values that we bring to our management of our public lands. Some lands are deemed to be so fragile and special that we should have a minimum of human activity; of course, those are wilderness designation areas. The other end of the continuum, you've got lands that are actively developed for coal mining or other kinds of intensive development. Along that continuum, it's 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 example. The level and use of snowmobiles has been an ongoing issue of conversation and litigation for that matter.

Right now, we're in Yellowstone in the middle of dueling federal courts, one in D.C. 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 kind of 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 then if they hadn't got 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 peoples' 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 and all to be able to live harmoniously.

SEN. KLOBUCHAR: Madame Chair, could I ask one more question? Okay. In Minnesota, we love our fishing. I think I had the statistic once of how many tens of millions of dollars we spend every year on worms; it's 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. And 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've 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've actually got some funding for dams. And there's a YouTube video I suggest you look 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. I wonder if -- one, I want to extend to you an invitation to get hit over the head by an Asian carp. And then, secondly, 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'd 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.

SEN. KLOBUCHAR: It scared my daughter, so it's worth seeing.

MR. STRICKLAND: (Chuckles.) We have this issue in many places and we have it, not only with respect to plants, as well as fish and other animal and reptile species. And it's a serious problem and the Department of Agriculture also has funding to assist. And so what we're trying to do is identify the highest priority areas and try and address those. And I know that the Asian carp is high on our list, and, in fact, it had been brought to my attention before this briefing. We have -- you know, in the Grand Canyon, we have invasive species of plants. We have that -- I know California, we have some of the same issues.

So I think it's something that has not gotten as much attention as it should have and we'll commit that we'll give it more attention. And to the extent that we have adequate funding, we'll do our best to address the problem.

SEN. KLOBUCHAR: Thank you very much.

SEN. BOXER: Thank you, Senator Klobuchar.

And I'm going to do my job here and then I'm going to hand the gavel over to Senator Cardin and he'll run the rest of the hearing and close it down.

I'm going to send you a couple of things to look at. There was an article, February 27th, '07 in the LA Times, "Mighty Lean Times for Wildlife Refuges." And it goes through the fact that the budget for these were just starved and we've got all these problems; we're supposed to build a visitor center and didn't do it.

And one of the arguments that I always make about preservation of our environment in California is that it's 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 made 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 in -- we have 40 -- over 40 refuges in our state and I'm going to send you -- well, I'm going to send it over to you, not that you need it, it's on your Web site -- but I'm going to send it over to you and also a map and, you know, California is just dotted with these places, these wonderful, glorious places.

So I'm 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 and -- because we really need to ensure that people aren't misusing these refuges.

So I'm going to hope that -- I'm going to know this but I'm going to ask you for the record. As you sit around these meetings with your superiors, I hope you're going to be a real stalwart for arguing. It's not always funding; sometimes it's just, you could shift some funding, you could make some of these changes, but I'm going to assume that you're going to fight hard so that you can do this job right. You're going to tell honestly what you need to do it right. I you don't, if you can't, if we can't give it to you, that's another story. But I guess my question is will you be an advocate for what you're supposed to be looking after?

MR. STRICKLAND: Thank you, Chairman.

I can assure that you that I, along with Secretary Salazar, take the point that you made 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, and the first assessment of the impact of climate change on our wildlife refuge is to see if we have to make adjustments to the boundaries or 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're looking at the stimulus monies, 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, to try and spend the dollars as wisely as possible and to make sure that we're addressing the challenges that population growth and climate change are putting on our wildlife refuges.

SEN. BOXER: Well, that's very important because I've always believed that when you take a job like this, you need to be an advocate for it. And I found under some administrations, we didn't have that. And all I ask is for the truth, you know, in order to do this job right, what is it you need? If we don't give it to you, that's our problem, but I need to know that you're going to tell us the truth and I have that great sense that you will.

I also think -- I'm glad you raised the stimulus issue because those monies really should be used for those one-time, you know, neglected improvements that we need to make and -- rather than the ongoing. The ongoing, we have to do it in our budget. So I hope you'll oversee that because that's 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.

SEN. BOXER: Do you agree to ensure the 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.

SEN. 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.

SEN. BOXER: Excellent. And we're going to ask our members to submit questions by tomorrow morning, with responses due Monday. So I'm assuming that you'll 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.

SEN. BOXER: That's right. It could be a late night Sunday, but I know your wife is saying, he'll do it. (Chuckles.) Well, I'm just thrilled with this nomination, obviously, and I'm happy to turn the gavel over to my friend, Ben Cardin, who, by the way, has a very important responsibility. He's overseeing, you know, all of the water issues. And you and he will have a lot of work to do. He's a passionate defender of wildlife and of the environment. And I'm so proud of my subcommittee chairs and give them a lot of responsibility.

So I think it's appropriate, Ben, that you take as much time as you need and close out the hearing.

SEN. BENJAMIN CARDIN (D-MD): Well, thank you, Madame Chair. And I appreciate your leadership on this issue. And Mr. Strickland, thank you for your willingness to serve the public in this very, very important position and I want to thank your family for the sacrifices that you will be making.

I enjoyed our conversation yesterday where we -- or the day before, 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's 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 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 federal, former federal prosecutor, he asked me to come in and help him address some historic issues that plagued the Department with respect to the issues that you mentioned in Fish and Wildlife, some management issues at the Mineral Management Service. And one of the very first things that the Senator did, now the 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 sent a 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.

SEN. CARDIN: Well, I thank you for that commitment, and that's -- 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 about 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.

Let me move on to a second issue that we've talked about, and that is the concerns on our refuge, our wildlife refuge and what's 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's a result of global climate change. We're 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 certainly would be a disappointment and I think it reflects that 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 the 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. The vision of those that set those refuges aside many, many years ago and the system has been in place for many, many years.

We have to match that now in a time when we're seeing these pressures. So one of the things that we're going to do is make sure that we have -- and we've got a lot of good scientists at the Department; we have 8,700 at USGS, got a lot of fine biologists and scientists at Fish and Wildlife -- what we're going to do is fast track a kind of 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'll be different in different places. Some places may acquire additional lands, other places we may do habitat restoration.

So we're going to do it on an accelerated basis and we're going to do with a sense of urgency in mission because we understand that these species, if their habitat is no longer available, will be pressured and we could lose them. So it's a very important part of our role.

SEN. 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 in species in America. Each state has its own challenges. In Maryland and our region, the Chesapeake Bay is a huge challenge.

You know, we're 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 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 can tell you another story about what's 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 preserve our economy and our way of life, but the other is so we can take action to prevent this type of damage.

But 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's what we're trying to do. We're 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've already done.

That's 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's global climate change or whether it's pollution issues or whether it's farming practices or whether it's 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 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's fair to say that the Department has behind the curve on this and we have some catching up to do and we need to bring a sense of urgency because you said it very well, the challenges are --

SEN. CARDIN: And let me just concur with Senator Boxer's comments. We are so pleased that you're 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'll 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.

MR. STRICKLAND: Thank you, Senator.

END.

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