Kempthorne Picked for Interior By Peter Baker and Juliet Eilperin,
Washington Post Staff Writer

[E]nvironmental groups immediately assailed the selection, calling it the latest example of the Bush administration selling out to development and energy industry interests. Environmentalists noted that Kempthorne fought to open national forests to logging, mining, and oil and gas drilling. They said he worked to weaken water safety and endangered species laws. …

The League of Conservation Voters offered a two-sentence response: “During his career in Congress, Governor Kempthorne earned a paltry 1 percent lifetime LCV score. Enough said.” …

“Gov. Kempthorne is a very nice, personable and noncombative person, which are some of the features the Bush administration is looking for and which will help in confirmation,” said Roger Singer, Idaho chapter director of the Sierra Club. “But his record on environmental issues is quite abysmal.”