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Frozen crystals packed with concentrated natural gas and buried 2,000 feet below the permafrost on Alaska's North Slope could become the next major domestic energy source, according to an assessment released Wednesday by the U.S. Geological Survey. The study finds that in the North Slope, frozen methane-and-water crystals known as hydrates contain as much as 85.4 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas. That's enough to heat 100 million homes for as long as 10 years, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said. New research into how to extract those resources has moved the possibility of recovering the usable energy from the...

The state of Alaska has sued the U.S. government, arguing that listing polar bears as a threatened species will hurt Alaskan oil and gas exploration, fisheries and tourism. The lawsuit, filed on Monday in federal court in Washington, seeks the withdrawal of a May 14 decision to list the big Arctic bears as threatened under the Endangered Species Act because climate change is melting their sea ice habitat. "We believe that the ... decision to list the polar bear was not based on the best scientific and commercial data available," Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said in a statement. Polar bears...

August 4, 2008, Fairbanks, Alaska – Governor Sarah Palin announced today the State of Alaska has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking to overturn U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne’s decision to list the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. This action follows written notice given more than 60 days ago to Secretary Dirk Kempthorne of the Department of the Interior and Director Dale Hall of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service asking that the regulation listing the polar bear as threatened be withdrawn.“We believe that the Service’s decision to list...

The Bush Administration named the polar bear to the “threatened species” list based on computer predictions of the anticipated loss of sea ice due to global warming Tuesday. “Computer models predict sea ice is likely to recede in the future,” said Department of Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne. “They [polar bears] are in my judgment likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future, in this case 45 years.” Kempthorne used a series of slides showing images of decrease polar sea ice while making his announcement. They are available here. The polar bear’s classification as “threatened” is a step below “endangered”—a classification...

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne should listen to his colleagues from Idaho and almost half of the U.S. Senate and give gun-carrying Americans consistent rules to follow. U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo asked Kempthorne to repeal a federal gun restriction in national parks and wildlife refuges because the guidelines are "confusing, burdensome and unnecessary.'' We agree with Crapo and 47 senators, including Sen. Larry Craig, who support the change. Crapo spent two weeks getting signatures on a letter to Kempthorne; 39 Republicans and eight Democrats signed on (the Democrats included both of Montana's senators). The letter asks federal agencies to change rules...

Gov. Bob Riley today said he plans to meet Friday with U.S. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne to talk about the drought and the fight over water being waged by the states of Alabama, Georgia and Florida. ''We're going to tell him that the only way all of us get through this is through a concept of shared pain," Riley said in an interview today. Jim Connaughton, chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality and an adviser to President Bush, plans to join Kempthorne in meeting with Riley Friday afternoon. Earlier in the day, Connaughton and Kempthorne plan to...

A SurveyUSA poll released yesterday shows Republicans in good shape to keep the Senate seat of disgraced GOP Senator Larry Craig, who is expected to resign at the end of the month. Lt. Governor Jim Risch (R), reportedly the most likely replacement appointee for the seat, leads former Democratic Congressman Larry LaRocco by a margin of 52%-36%. Former Governor Dirk Kempthorne, who served as a U.S. Senator in the 1990's and is currently U.S. Secretary of the Interior, leads LaRocco 55%-36%. Congressman Mike Simpson, who has indicated that he does not want to serve in the Senate — and has...

WASHINGTON, June 28, 2007 – After almost disappearing from the American scene, the bald eagle’s comeback is complete, thanks in part to the Defense Department. Challenger, a bald eagle, takes flight during the Bald Eagle Recovery and Final Delisting ceremony held at the Jefferson Memorial, June 28, 2007, as Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne (right) stands with his hand over his heart. Defene Dept. photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Molly A. Burgess, USN  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne and other officials made the announcement today at a ceremonial event held at the Jefferson Memorial...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid says the Bush administration has agreed to abandon its claim to millions of dollars generated by the sale of public land in southern Nevada. The Nevada Democrat said Friday that he had brokered a deal in which the White House promised to drop its claim on the money in return for Democratic support for the confirmation of former Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne as Interior secretary. Kempthorne was approved by the Senate on Friday, overcoming objections from a handful of Democrats. He was later sworn in by White House Chief of Staff Joshua...

The two-term Idaho governor and former Republican senator won approval on a voice vote after eight Democratic senators registered their opposition in an earlier test vote. Kempthorne told senators earlier this month he was eager to expand oil and gas development on public lands and waters that already are producing 30 percent of the nation's domestic supply of energy. President Bush said Kempthorne would work to effectively manage national parks, support historic and cultural sites and pursue energy development that would treat the environment responsibly. Kempthorne was sworn in Friday by White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten during a...

WASHINGTON -- Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne's nomination for interior secretary could run into trouble from Senate Democrats who want to use it as a bargaining chip to stop more oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, or at least assure their states get a cut. Ahead of Thursday's hearing in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said he would try to block Kempthorne unless Republicans back off their plan to open 3.6 million acres of the central Gulf to oil and gas drilling. Nelson, citing the potential for environmental damage, said Wednesday he...

The ink was barely dry on Gale Norton's resignation as secretary of the Interior when the talk began that Norton, who once served as attorney general of Colorado, would have to be replaced by another Westerner. Such sentiments were confirmed when President George W. Bush announced last week that he would nominate Dirk Kempthorne, governor of Idaho, to replace Norton.

Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne to be named Interior Secretary... Developing...

DONNELLY, Idaho - President Bush spent Tuesday at a resort in the Idaho Rockies, mountain biking around a rugged trail circuit before going fishing in a small pontoon boat on a wind-whipped lake. "I'm kind of hanging loose, as they say," Bush said earlier outside of his lodge at the 9-month-old Tamarack Resort, where he was spending two nights away from his Texas ranch. Bush spent part of the day with Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, although the governor wasn't always able to keep up with the brisk pace Bush set on his morning laps around the pine-studded grounds. "Did they...

Today President Bush, in an unscheduled appearance, stood with Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne, and talked with the press in Donnelly, Idaho, fielding questions about Iraq, Israel and Cindy Sheehan. Tomorrow he is scheduled to make a speech to the Idaho National Guard and thank them for their service.Enjoy your trip to Sanity Island on the Daily Dose!!

SPOKANE, Wash. -- With drought and the threat of catastrophic wildfires facing the Northwest this summer, the governors of Washington, Oregon, Montana and Idaho were meeting in Spokane on Wednesday to share information on how to deal with the problems. The governors also planned to discuss issues related to the Columbia River, which drains portions of all four states, and economic development, said Kim Contris, a spokeswoman for Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire, a Democrat elected in November. Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski and Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne will also attend. "They'll be talking about cooperation," Contris said....

DENVER--Governor Bill Owens, a Republican, has been crisscrossing the country for years promoting the virtues of this state's strict constitutional limits on government spending. He has repeatedly urged other states to adopt restrictions of their own, based on Colorado's Taxpayer Bill of Rights amendment, known as TABOR. But this summer, Owens says, he will traverse his own mountainous state pushing the opposite message. Midway through his second term, Owens is working to persuade Coloradans to suspend the limits he championed and let the state government spend $3 billion more in tax money than TABOR would allow. Owens thus becomes another...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Christine Iverson(202) 863-8614 LAS VEGAS – Victory 2004 announced today the schedule for the “Leadership Matters” tour in which 20 Republican Governors will crisscross the country touting President Bush’s strong and steady leadership. The Governors will meet President Bush in Las Vegas, NV, this Thursday, October 14th to launch the two-day tour. The Governors, traveling in 7 teams, will rally support for the President by highlighting that leadership matters when choosing a President. The tour will stress the President’s steady resolve and clear, consistent vision on today’s critical issues. The Governors’ schedule is as follows. Cities...

<p>A Democratic governor broke from the rhetoric of many in her party yesterday when she said bringing freedom to Iraq was worth going to war, even if no weapons of mass destruction are found.</p> <p>Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco joined a bipartisan group of governors fresh from a two-day trip to Iraq who urged that the delicate situation in that country not be "politicized" in the upcoming presidential election.</p>

<p>Republican Gov. George Pataki of New York (right) and Gov. Kulongoski enjoy ice cream after a visit Tuesday to a dairy plant in Iraq.</p> <p>The governor checks on Oregon Guard troops.</p> <p>Former Marine and Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski dined in a mess hall with Oregon soldiers and visited with Baghdad shop owners Tuesday, as part of a surprise visit to Iraq at the invitation of the Bush administration.</p>