Give interior a chance

Finding a member of President Trump’s cabinet to root for is difficult — it’s a frightening assemblage of cronies and ideologues — but Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is a contender.

Unlike most Trump agency heads, Zinke respects and appreciates the mission and values of the organization he now leads.

Western states will be watching closely to see how Zinke manages beloved federal lands, national parks, monuments and tribal relations.

No doubt there will be vehement disagreement with some of Zinke’s decisions, especially around resource extraction.

But he deserves a chance to prove that he’ll manage the agency fairly and follow through on his pledge to protect America’s priceless public assets now under his care.

A Montana native and outdoorsman who considers himself a “Teddy Roosevelt” conservationist, Zinke attended the University of Oregon and served as a Navy SEAL. Most recently Zinke represented Montana in Congress.

Several members of Washington state’s delegation said they respect Zinke and welcome his Western perspective in the administration but expect there will be clashes.

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., voted against Zinke’s nomination because of his mixed voting record on environmental issues and concerns that he’ll cave on protecting federal lands and monuments.

“He’s going to be right in the middle of it — he’d have to be supernatural in a lot of ways to stand down some of these Republicans who are demanding we give back public lands,” she said.

U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., said Zinke is “going to listen” but “I won’t say we’re going to agree on everything.” This editorial appeared in the Seattle Times and was distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.