Gale Norton takes the oath of office as the 48th Secretary
of the Interior at a Jan. 31 White House ceremony, as her
parents, Dale and Jackie Norton, proudly watch their
daughter become the first woman Secretary in the Depart-
ment’s 152 year history.
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Gale Norton became the 48th Secretary of the Interior on Jan. 31, following a bipartisan U.S. Senate vote. On that date, she
also went down in history as the first woman to take the helm at the U.S. Department of the Interior.
"I am both a conservative and a conservationist," she told members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
at her Jan. 18 confirmation hearing. "In fact, I am a compassionate conservative and a passionate conservationist," she
declared.
Norton's lifelong commitment to conservation and 20 years of experience in natural resource policy issues clearly
demonstrate the compatibility of those views. A keystone of her beliefs is that people with shared goals and goodwill can
come together, despite differing political views and affiliations, to find common sense solutions to environmental
issues--solutions that can accommodate and preserve other traditional American values.
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"We can preserve America's wild places while protecting jobs and doing our part to help preserve America's prosperity,"
Secretary Norton told Interior employees at a Feb. 15 get-acquainted session broadcast by satellite to Department offices
across the nation.
"I respectfully disagree with those who believe that to protect the environment we must violate the Constitution. I
respectfully disagree with those who believe that to combat pollution, we must sacrifice our standards of living. I
respectfully disagree with those who think that human beings are somehow unnatural and, therefore, always at odds with
the environment."
As a private attorney, federal official, and state attorney general who has been through some tough battles, Norton is well
aware that translating her values and beliefs into policies and actions won't be easy. "It will require a lot of hard work and
the willingness to be creative, to think outside the usual boxes," she has said. "I believe that we can be creative and
innovative--that we can have a vibrant, healthy environment--and utilize it, too."
As Secretary, Norton also has made it clear to Interior employees that she is counting on their help. "To succeed I'm going
to need your help, your input, your ideas, your innovations--and sometimes your criticisms," she said.
Norton welcomes the formidable challenge of reframing the environmental debate and bringing new approaches to
managing the public domain.
"Using consultation and collaboration, forging partnerships with interested citizens, we can succeed in our effort to
conserve America's most precious places," she said. "What's more, we can achieve this while maintaining America's
prosperity and economic dynamism, while respecting constitutional rights, and nurturing diverse traditions and cultures."
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