Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will step down from his position by the end of March to spend more time with his family in Colorado, the Denver Post reports.
Allison Sherry writes President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden wanted Salazar to stay on but his office told the Denver Post he had to prioritize family obligations.
During Salazar’s tenure, the Interior Department established seven new national parks, 10 new wildlife refuges and 18 utility-scale solar energy projects on public lands, Sherry reports.
According to the Washington Post, interior secretaries tend to be from locations west of the Mississippi River.
The Post reports the names of former Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire (D), former Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash) and former Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) have been mentioned as potential successors to Salazar.
Former Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal (D) and Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes have also had their names come up, Aaron Blake and Juliet Eilperin report.
