Controversial Interior deputy leaving post
Wednesday, December 08, 2004 -
Washington - J. Steven Griles, the Interior Department's controversial deputy secretary who favored aggressive energy development in the West and became the subject of an ethics probe, submitted his resignation Tuesday.
A former energy industry lobbyist, Griles underscored in his letter to President Bush his philosophy of considering business interests when regulating use of 507 million acres of national parkland.
"It has been a great honor to serve within your Administration, which recognizes that for conservation efforts to be successful the government must involve the people who live and work on the land," Griles wrote.
Interior Secretary Gale Norton said in a statement Griles had helped transform "federal relations with the West from antagonism to cooperative conservation."
more...
http://www.denverpost.com/cda/article/print/0,1674,36%257E11676%257E2582779,00.html