KEN SALAZAR
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

THE DEPARTMENT: Interior is the most influential department when it comes to policies affecting landowners. Covered under its jurisdictional umbrella are the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Mineral Management Services, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

THE NEW SECRETARY: A senator from Colorado since 2004, Salazar and his brother John (who serves in the U.S. House of Representatives) and six other siblings grew up on a 1,200 acre ranch near the San Antonio River that was originally settled in the 1860s by their great-great grandfather Francisco. Their childhood home had no electricity or running water. Salazar will be one of the most recognizable cabinet secretaries, thanks to the cowboy hat he wears regularly with business attire.

THE EXPECTATIONS: Environmental and conservation groups praised Salazar’s appointment, even though he has not always been their favorite senator. Still, they like the fact that Salazar has long been an advocate of national parks protections, and a critic of oil and gas development on public lands in the western U.S. Cabinet watchers believe that will translate into a rollback of George W. Bush’s moves to open some federal lands to drilling — particularly in Utah. And, landowner groups, especially ranching groups, also have had kind words so far.

TOM VILSACK
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

THE DEPARTMENT: A powerhouse both in Washington and in rural America, the USDA does everything from providing support to family farmers to regulating food safety.

THE NEW SECRETARY: Vilsack was a two-term governor of Iowa when, in 2006, he became a Democratic presidential primary opponent of Obama. His campaign fizzled almost immediately and he dropped out after three months, eventually becoming co-chairman of Senator Hillary Clinton’s campaign. Apparently the new president isn’t holding any grudges against Vilsack.

THE EXPECTATIONS: The challenges for Vilsack are significant thanks to the current recession. The credit crisis has squeezed farmers; once-hot commodities are now sinking in value; and farmers big and small are cutting jobs to stay profitable. That’s put rural America, which depends on federal policymakers for direction, market regulation, and, often, hard cash, in a worrisome mood.

STEPHEN CHU
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

THE DEPARTMENT: The main regulator of industries who generate and supply power — in all its literal forms — the Energy Department also funds hundreds of scientific research projects.
THE NEW SECRETARY: Chu is a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, the first Nobel winner selected to a presidential cabinet. He is also the former head of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

THE EXPECTATIONS: Obama made a plethora of campaign pledges related to energy, and it’ll be Chu’s job to try and deliver. He’ll push to cap greenhouse gas emissions, change regulations related to offshore drilling, and move the U.S. away from foreign oil, in part by creating tax breaks and other incentives for development of renewable energy — including wind farms, which are of particular interest to large landowners such as T. Boone Pickens, whose Mesa Vista Ranch was featured in the Fall 2008 issue.

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Some lawmakers want to roll back rules put in place by the Bush Administration. Others want Obama’s White House to put more money into land and less into tax breaks as a means to boost the economy.

Here’s a rundown on several key legislators and their committees — all of whom are worth watching as the year progresses. A complete review of the key players will be featured as the cover story of the Spring 2009 Land Report.

THE SENATE

COMMITTEE: Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
RETURNING CHAIR: Jeff Bingaman, D-New Mexico
RANKING REPUBLICAN: Pete Domenici, R-New Mexico
BATTLE LINES: Though he’s an advocate of “green” policies, Bingaman has introduced a $10 billion legislative package that bundles 160 different bills into a single proposal. A single proposal that runs 1,300 pages long, that is. The Omnibus Lands Management Act seeks to capitalize on the new weakness of Senate Republicans, who have blocked some of the 160 measures it contains.

COMMITTEE: Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
RETURNING CHAIR: Tom Harkin, D-Iowa. 
RANKING REPUBLICAN: Saxby Chambliss, R-Georgia
BATTLE LINES: We know this: There won’t be a fight over President-Elect Obama’s choice of agriculture secretary, Tom Vilsack. Harkin has already thrown his support behind Vilsack, a fellow Iowan, and Harkin’s committee will hold Vilsack’s confirmation hearings.

COMMITTEE: Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
RETURNING CHAIR: Barbara Boxer, D-California.
RANKING REPUBLICAN: James Inhofe, R-Oklahoma
BATTLE LINES: Boxer, like Harkin, also will ask the Obama Administration to ramp up spending to boost the economy. In particular, she’ll seek more funds for waterway projects.

THE HOUSE

COMMITTEE: House Committee on Energy and Commerce
NEW CHAIR: Henry Waxman, D-California.
RANKING REPUBLICAN: Joe Barton, R-Texas
BATTLE LINES: Waxman toppled Dingell in part because he promised to push for stricter laws on greenhouse gas emission. That may mean a crackdown on coal producers, whom Waxman has targeted in previous legislation.

COMMITTEE: House Committee on Natural Resources
RETURNING CHAIR: Nick Rahall, West Virginia.
RANKING REPUBLICAN: Doc Hastings, R-Washington
BATTLE LINES: Though his party is now fully in charge of Congress and the White House, Rahall may still have a fight on his hands with Rep. Waxman on coal (see above) as well as with the outgoing Bush Administration.

COMMITTEE: House Committee on Agriculture
RETURNING CHAIR: Collin Peterson, D-Minnesota.
RANKING REPUBLICAN: Bob Goodlatte, R-Virginia.
BATTLE LINES: Just a year into his chairmanship, Peterson led the charge in the House to buck President Bush’s second veto of the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008, aka, the Farm Bill. In the current Congress, Peterson will be called on to press for more regulation of commodity futures markets, which have been extremely volatile in the current recession.

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