Interior’s Zinke: Trump has ‘a lot of Roosevelt in him’

Just as Trump has recommended, he’s opening up more public lands, eager for Americans to make use of what is theirs.

“The president has got a lot of Roosevelt in him, in that he’s a man of action. And he wants to get things done, just like Roosevelt,” Zinke told Secrets.

From easing regulations and restrictions on hunters and anglers to setting a path to modernizing national parks, Zinke is refocusing the Interior Department on a 100-year plan, like Roosevelt did about 100 years ago.

“I’m having a ball,” he said. “No one loves public land more. Roosevelt, who’ve I’ve admired since I was a Boy Scout, had it right. He carved the path of putting under federal protection millions of acres and and beginning our experience of our public lands, unique to the U.S,” he added.

Zinke has put an early focus on hunters, a group his department found in a new report have dropped by two million. “I care about it because it’s the legacy of the land and there’s goodness in protecting tradition,” said the former House member and retired Navy SEAL.

He must be doing something right: Elite hunting groups fear he is making it too easy for hunters, while mainstream hunting groups want him to work faster.

“We’ve moving to actively support hunting as well as other forms of activities,” he said, referencing fishing and wildlife watching.

Just this month he announced new funds for waterfowl conservation. And last week he issued a new order to broaden public lands access for hunters and anglers.

“Today’s Secretarial Order is the latest example of how the Trump Administration is actively moving to support hunting and other forms of outdoor recreation on public lands. This means finding ways to expand hunting and fishing on public lands, improving access, and taking necessary actions to facilitate the enjoyment of these time-honored activities by any member of our society,” he said.

As part of the effort, he is urging agencies to improve “wildlife corridors” and areas around parkland.

Former President Teddy Roosevelt, who created the National Park System, with famed preservationist John Muir at Yosemite.

He’s also asked employees to share their experiences using public lands. Michael J. Richardson, of the Bureau of Land Management National Communications Support Team, told about his hunt in Wyoming last year with several pals from the 10th Mountain Division where they served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Richardson said he and his pals grew up in the East and didn’t know hunting was allowed on public lands. That changed when he joined BLM in Utah and arranged a mule deer hunt for his pals.

“For them, it was eye-opening,” he said of his East Coast friends. “The ability to hunt this tract was great, but more than that, it was an opportunity for us to have time to reconnect,” said Richardson, already planning a repeat trip.

He gave a hat tip to Zinke and other Interior leaders for trying to get more Americans outdoors and onto public lands and into parks. “That’s their lifestyle and they know the importance and heritage of this for American families,” he said.

Zinke passed on the credit to his boss and Trump’s wish to open up, not lock down, public lands.

“He wants infrastructure, wants a better more responsive government to local communities and states. He, like I, views that the federal government didn’t listen, had a very heavy handed approach, was very arrogant, the federal government was very arrogant on their approach,” he said.

“He’s the best boss I’ve ever worked for because he doesn’t tell me what to do. When we talk, it’s, ‘Great job what do you need, win.” His guidance is to win. That’s pretty good guidance from the boss. And winning is doing your job well,” he added.

Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]