Remarks Prepared for Delivery
The Hon. Gale Norton, Secretary of the Interior
National Newspaper Association
Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill, Washington, DC
10 a.m., March 23, 2001

Thank you, Bob, for that kind introduction. Bob is a solid newsman and I'm honored to call him a friend. He and his team put together one of Americans best community newspapers. All of us from Colorado are proud of his paper and the good work he's doing with the National Newspaper Association.

We all have something in common. For most of my undergrad years at the University of Denver, I was a journalism major - before I switched to pre-law. You could say, I went from making deadlines to making loopholes.

I was the news editor at the college paper, The Denver Clarion. I made all of $12 an issue - which made the transition to public service pretty easy. I was also a copy editor. To this day I still make my staff crazy with spelling and grammar edits.

It's great to be here today with the members of the NNA. You and your papers are the heart and soul of your communities. You're our community's historians, partners in progress and truth seekers.

This is the first time I've had the privilege of meeting most of you. I hope we can all agree on one thing: I look nothing like my caricatures in the political cartoons.

During my confirmation hearing, I was under the media microscope, to say the least. It was an experience I'll never forget.

I had to fill out more forms than H & R Block. In fact, I had to put together copies of every article I had ever written, and find information on every controversial issue in which I was ever involved.

I ended up on my hands and knees, in a crawlspace under my house, searching through endless boxes of dusty old files. I remember thinking; the glamour of being a Cabinet nominee is clearly overrated.

The financial forms I filled out required figuring out the investment details and management structure of every stock, 401 (k), IRA and pension program. That was the first time I ever felt thankful my husband and I don't have more assets.

There was one question on one of the forms that was more intrusive of each nominee's privacy than any other. It basically asks, "Are there any deep dark secrets about you, or any accusations that could be made against you, that would be really embarrassing if they ever saw the light of day?" Luckily, after being an elected official, I was able to answer that question: "Yes. Please see the attached newspaper articles for details."

I've served as Secretary of the Interior for all of seven weeks. Those seven weeks have been very busy, very exciting and - I hope and believe - very productive. I've listened a lot. I've learned a lot. And I've done a little fact finding of my own.

Did you know that one out of every four acres of U.S. land is managed by the Department of the Interior? Including 68 percent of Nevada? Or that over one-third of our country's domestic oil, gas and coal is produced on land managed by the Interior Department?

We recover endangered species, maintain coral reefs, educate children in Indian schools, fight wildland fires, assess earthquake probabilities, and make sure National Parks are ready for nearly 300 million visitors every year. In other words, this will be a lousy time to work on my golf game.

The only way we can monitor that much land and activity is to listen to all voices, and follow a process I call the "Four C's": they're consultation, cooperation, communication, and all in the service of conservation: Between landowners and environmentalists; between all levels of government and federal officials; between government leaders and the media; and between all people of goodwill who share the common goal of protecting our wildplaces and the habitat that surround them.

Since the confirmation process, I've had the distinct privilege of sitting down and talking with many different people committed to conservation and environmental protection. People who - like me and really everyone at the Interior Department - care deeply about protecting and managing our national treasures and wild places. I've received tremendous feedback.

But there's a real problem in Washington D.C. today - too often groups are pitted against each other. Too often political conversation becomes bitter and divisive. Too often the casualties of this culture of partisan conflict are the very creatures and places that both sides are seeking to defend.

President Bush campaigned on changing the tone in Washington. And he's made great strides in returning civility to political debate. People are at least starting to disagree - without being disagreeable. As Secretary of the Interior, I will work to change the tone in which we talk about conserving and protecting our environment. Changing the tone won't always make splashy headlines but it will get things done.

Community newspapers are the most direct and thorough media there is. When I campaigned in Colorado, I always stopped at the local paper. Sometimes you'd take my picture. Sometimes you'd pour me a cup of coffee. And sometimes you'd tell me come back later because the press was running, and no one was available to interview me.

Your papers are critically important in keeping lines of communication open to the ideas and voices of Americans most impacted by the federal government.

A prime example of government not listening to people happened few months ago, when - in their final hours - the previous administration suddenly designated over one million acres of national monuments.

In 2000, the total amount of monument land designated equaled the size of the state of Connecticut. But the previous administration took little trouble to assure that the monuments can be maintained. They didn't include a single dollar to hire a ranger to protect the monuments and guide people. They didn't include a single dollar to build a visitor center. They didn't even include money to put up one sign so visitors can actually find the new monuments.

And worse yet, they didn't work in with local property owners, elected officials and other people whose lives were affected.

I'm dedicated to charting a new course. I'm opening up lines of communications that have not always been properly fostered. I want to partner with local people at the beginning of the process - not at the end. I'll ask for their advice to find innovative ways to care for and protect precious national treasures.

For example, we're committed to building on the principle of respect for property rights. Farmers and ranchers are often the best stewards of the land. We can achieve more by working with them - and capitalizing on their intimate knowledge of the land they depend on and the land they love.

Let me give you an example. Suppose you were out walking on your farm one day, and found an incredibly rare type of mineral - something that was highly valued by people all across the world. You would be excited and happy - because obviously you would soon be extremely wealthy.

On the other hand, suppose you make a similar discovery, but the discovery is a rare and beautiful bird. Thousands of avid bird watchers would give their eye-teeth just for a glimpse - and lucky you, one has landed on your farm. You're so happy - right?

Wrong! Instead of great wealth, you face economic devastation. There is something profoundly wrong with a system that gives such perverse results. It creates conflict and hardship, instead of environmental stewardship.

It will be challenging to move from our current system of conflict to one of cooperation - but with President Bush, we can make it happen.

For example, President Bush has proposed using landowner incentive programs to give technical assistance, habitat enhancement tools, and financial reward to foster win-win solutions - benefitting landowners, endangered species and our national treasures.

We must also harness 21^st century technology to help our environment. Where we once needed scores of oil wells to tap underground reserves, today in some areas we can use one hole on the surface to drill for oil in a circle extending seven miles.

We can use the resources below the ground while we preserve the landscape and habitat above.

President Bush is committed to repairing our national parks after years of neglect. For example, the visitors center at California's Lava Beds National Memorial is two 1974 trailers bolted together. If the center was on private land it would have been condemned five years ago. The safety of visitors and park staff is threatened. And the 18-foot trailer sits atop caves that are in danger of collapsing and harming resources.

Over the next five years, the Administration will invest $4.9 billion to eliminate the backlog of maintenance projects. That way American families can enjoy our national treasures. Broken sewer lines, polluted streams and the destruction of natural resources will be avoided.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs funds schools for over 50,000 Indian children. To many of these schools are crumbling - and to many of our children are being left behind. Indian children are forced to learn in crowded and unhealthy classrooms with poor heat and plumbing. We are committed to rebuilding Indian schools over the next five years. The first six schools will be built this summer, the next six in 2002.

For the first time ever, the Land and Water Conservation Fund will be fully funded - showing our commitment to preserving our habitat and protecting our environment. Under this historic conservation plan, states will have more flexibility to meet their needs: whether it's local open space, resource protection, providing habitat for wildlife, or recreation.

We couldn't have dynamic innovations, or this knowledge or insight without local involvement. Those of us in Washington need to be good partners with Americans living in other parts of this country and in our territories.

America is a stronger nation because of the diversity of its people. Every person in this room holds different views and perspectives with different sources of knowledge and ideas. That's why it's so important that we work together to keep lines of communication open and listen to America's ideas and voices.

Not just because it helps us get along better. Not just because it helps protect our nation's wild places, endangered species and precious resources. But because it's the right thing to do. To each of you, I thank you; for your concern; for your devotion to communicating ideas; and your passion for the truth. Thank you.