Ethics scandal didn't prompt resignation, Norton says

WASHINGTON — Gale Norton, who resigned as Interior Department secretary Friday, leaves amid a burgeoning ethics scandal that has touched the agency as federal investigators eye links between her former deputy, Steven Griles, and disgraced former Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Norton, who turns 52 today, said the investigations were unrelated to her decision to leave, which she said was personal. Her resignation letter was dated Thursday and her exit is effective at month's end, but she said administration officials have known for some time that she was planning to leave.

She said she remained after last year's Gulf Coast hurricanes crippled the region's oil business and sparked nationwide shortages. "Really, I might have made the decision to leave earlier had it not been for things like the hurricanes last year that took so much of our time and effort," she said.

"I look forward to visiting a national park and not holding a press conference in there," said Norton, who served at Interior longer than all but six predecessors.

Norton on Friday dismissed any potential links among herself, her agency and the Abramoff scandals, saying she had no knowledge of the dealings between Griles and Abramoff that have drawn scrutiny.

"I'm very confident that the decisions made at the Department of Interior have been based on the facts and the law and have been appropriate," she said. Norton called Griles a "great asset of this department. ... What I saw of his conduct was aboveboard and very conscientious."

A federal criminal task force is examining, among other issues, Griles' discussions with Abramoff at a time when the lobbyist was seeking departmental actions on behalf of his tribal clients.

Norton, a former Colorado attorney general who had represented mining, timber and oil companies, said she did not have a new job lined up. She has been mentioned as a potential successor to Colorado Gov. Bill Owens, a term-limited Republican, but Norton said Friday she is more interested in rejoining the private sector.

Favored energy interests?

A Kansas native who moved to Colorado at 5, Norton spoke often about her love of wilderness. As an adult, she went canoeing with Washington, D.C.-area schoolchildren to promote outdoor recreation. But environmentalists decried several of her policies, including allowing snowmobiling that has prompted endangered woodland caribou to flee Idaho for Canada, and failing to reduce a National Park Service maintenance backlog that may total $9.7 billion.

She has been viewed as largely favorable to energy and mining interests — at the expense, critics say, of environmentally sensitive lands and a tradition of weighing science over politics.

President Bush, in a written statement, called Norton a "strong advocate for the wise use and protection of our nation's natural resources."

But several environmental groups applauded news of her departure.

During Norton's first three years as secretary, Interior's Bureau of Land Management issued drilling permits at a record pace, increasing the number of permits 70 percent since the Clinton administration. She also has been one of the administration's most fervent advocates for opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to energy exploration, one goal that has yet to be achieved.

In addition to opening up the West for energy exploration, the Interior Department under Norton reduced the supervisory role of the federal government on public lands. For example, wilderness protection was canceled for more than 2.5 million acres in Utah and Colorado, much of which later was opened to oil and gas drilling.

Environmental groups claim Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service has voided more than 16 million acres of critical habitat for species listed as threatened or endangered. Under Norton, Interior has taken the position that habitat protection should be largely voluntary.

"She really exemplified the revolving door between the Republicans, industry groups and anti-environmental groups," said Kieron Suckling, policy director of the Center for Biological Diversity, which has won numerous lawsuits against Norton's department for refusing to designate critical habitat for endangered species. "I expect that government scientists and decision-makers are clapping their hands under their desks."

Still, some conservative groups praised Norton's emphasis on "cooperative conservation," in which federal and private groups gave landowners financial incentives to preserve their property.

She also has received warm praise from hunting and other outdoor organizations. Snowmobilers were pleased, for example, when Interior reversed a ban on snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park scheduled to take effect in 2003 and instead allowed increased usage.

Throughout a 40-minute conference call Friday with reporters, Norton was adamant that she operated with the best interests of the environment at heart. She took credit for restoring "millions of acres of land, over 10,000 miles of stream and shoreline" and for spending billions of dollars "improving wildlife habitat and otherwise restoring the environment."

Efforts to influence

Abramoff, who recently pleaded guilty to corruption charges, made repeated efforts to influence Norton, who wielded power over his Indian tribal clients seeking approval for gambling and land-use projects.

One important connection was Italia Federici, who heads the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy (CREA), which was founded by Norton before she came to Washington. Another was Griles, Norton's deputy, who eventually would be offered a private-sector job by Abramoff.

E-mails obtained by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee showed that Federici, who had previously worked on Norton's political campaigns in Colorado, tried to arrange a meeting in 2001 for one of Abramoff's clients, Coushatta tribal chairman Lovelin Poncho, with Norton. Eventually, Poncho did meet with Norton at a fundraising dinner for CREA. Abramoff was closely involved in the planning of the dinner.

Many of Abramoff's Indian-tribe clients agreed later to be trustees of CREA, at a cost of $50,000 each. Among the advantages of a trusteeship were invitations to CREA events, attended by department officials, including Norton.

Norton on Friday referred to earlier comments by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who has spearheaded a Senate inquiry into Abramoff's dealings with Indian tribes and said Norton was not suspected of wrongdoing.

"He specifically said there was no evidence that I had any knowledge about any of the activities he was investigating," Norton said.