Sally Jewell has been an extremely effective Sec or Interior, but that’s only a small part of the story. Ms Jewel is one of the most powerful people currently in government, she administers all of our Parks, BLM lands, Wildlife Reserves, and most the Monuments. But power and effectiveness still aren’t the entire story, Ms Jewell is just about universally liked and respected. She wields unimaginable power, yet she is humble and likable. Ms Jewell’s respect was earned through her actions.
Our public lands have gone through a seismic shift over the past quarter century or so. Policy has vacillated between overprotection in reaction to Reagan era exploitation to confrontation with the Bush science denialism, and finally to a more balanced collaborative approach of the Obama Presidency. Sally Jewell is just the person to administer that radical shift to working with all parties instead of fighting ideological battles.
The current shift to the collaborative approach of the New Conservationists attempts to do an end run around conflict and litigation by sitting all the parties down in a room, often for many weekends or even years, until some sort of plan that most parties can sign on to is reached. Under Sally Jewell not only do large corporations, and large professional NGOs and government agencies have their say, but also we hear from the local family who live down the road and are most affected.
It might not make headlines but a lot of good has been accomplished by working together. States, large landowners, the feds, NGOs.
I’ve followed Secretary Jewell on twitter since she began her job. She enjoys meeting people and spending time in our public lands. Her tweets have added depth to the endless litany of meetings and conferences she attends. What caused me to write was this video I saw on the feed of an Idaho op ed writer.
The vid is 7 minutes long, maybe just watch the first 30 seconds, you might end up watching the whole thing.
Towards the end Rocky (the op ed writer) asks about Malheur. I thought at once what a pity to ask about an issue she had so little to do with. It pains Ms Jewell to talk about the employees who were fearful and left. My thought was that Malheur had nothing to do with the current department of Interior, but was rather a throwback to the failed policies of the past. The current Interior is sowing the seeds of a much more inclusive method of decision making, A way that doesn’t lead to future Bundys of Southern Utah or Hammonds of Oregon.
Secretary Jewell will be a hard act to follow.