Outdoor firm CEO is Interior pick

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said Wednesday that he has selected Sally Jewell, chief executive officer of Recreational Equipment Inc., to be secretary of the Interior Department in his second-term Cabinet.

Jewell’s background as an engineer and experience in the banking, energy and retail industries give her the skills needed to run a department that oversees 500 million acres of public land, Obama said as he introduced her at the White House.

“She is an expert on the energy and climate issues that are going to shape our future,” Obama said. “She knows that there’s no contradiction between being good stewards of the land and our economic progress.”

Obama has said he plans to make lowering the risks of climate change a priority in his second term.

If confirmed by the Senate, Jewell would succeed Ken Salazar, a former Democratic senator from Colorado who sought to strengthen oil and gas regulations after BP’s 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill and to expand solarand wind-energy projects on federal land. The agency has about 70,000 employees.

Jewell heads a company focused on the outdoors, with sales of clothing, camping and recreational gear reaching almost $2 billion a year. Her 2011 compensation, including $754,307 in base pay, was $2 million, down from $2.28 million a year earlier, according to a statement on the company website. Cabinet secretaries are paid about $200,000 this year.

She joined Recreational Equipment Inc. as chief operating officer in 2000 after working at Washington Mutual Inc.’s commercial banking group as president. From 1978 through 1981, she was an engineer for Mobil Oil Corp.

“Her experience as a petroleum engineer and business leader will bring a unique perspective to an office that is key to our nation’s energy portfolio,” said Tim Wigley, president of the Western Energy Alliance, which represents more than 400 companies.

“We hope to see a better balance of productive development on nonpark, nonwilderness public lands.”

The next Interior chief will oversee development of the first federal rules for hydraulic fracturing on public lands. The drilling process has unlocked stores of oil and gas trapped in shale rock formations, and industry representatives have resisted the Interior Department’s push for greater oversight.

Environmental groups say the process, known as fracking, poses risks for water and air pollution and are seeking tighter regulation of the practice.

Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club, a San Francisco-based environmental group, praised Jewell’s selection, noting her efforts to encourage children to enjoy the outdoors.

“President Obama chose a leader with a demonstrated commitment to preserving the higher purposes public lands hold for all Americans — recreation, adventure and enjoyment,” Brune said in a statement.

Her selection would add a woman to Obama’s Cabinet. The president drew criticism from some women’s groups after he picked men to lead the State, Treasury and Defense departments in his initial round of second-term nominations.

White House press secretary Jay Carney said Obama believes that a diverse Cabinet improves decision-making and said Jewell is “uniquely qualified” for the Interior post given her business background and commitment to conservation.

The pick is the first in Obama’s second-term energy and environment team. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, who promoted clean-energy development, and Environmental Protection Agency head Lisa Jackson, who oversaw the first U.S. greenhouse-gas regulations, are leaving. Their replacements haven’t been named.