Thursday, December 18. 2008

Obama: "I want an Interior Department that very frankly cleans up its act"

These were president-elect Obama's words on announcing Senator Ken Salazar as the next Interior Secretary. I was a bit taken back by the frankness of his remarks but approvingly so. But will another politician such as Salazar fight the good fight for effectiveness in the name of the American taxpayer? Mr. Obama's stated first priority of his administration is for better energy policy and that sits squarely in the hands of the Interior Sectretary. I don't know Senator Salazar's background other than what has been written about his efforts to curtail oil shale development but support offshore drilling.

But given the mission of Interior and in particular the USGS, we will see better management at Survey? Will the new GIO for Interior drive geospatial technology to be more consolidated between the other agencies like BLM, MMS, BIA and the others in to a more unified geospatial data model ala the efforts of the FGDC and the mission Geospatial Line of Business (GLoB)? Will Salazar keep a GIO in place?

I'm sure Obama was referring to some of the mismanagement issues of the MMS but what do you think he meant? I'd like to hear your opinion on what's next for Interior. We've reported on some of the recent developments at the USGS, like the recently updated website of the National Map. What say you on how the new Interior Sectretary can "clean up the act" of the department?

Posted by Joe Francica in USGS at 06:48 | Comments (3) | Trackbacks (0) |

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One should not confuse Mr. Obama's interest in 'cleaning up the act' of Interior with an interest in building an effective DOI-wide geospatial program.

The clean-up likely refers to the wayward acts of a few besotted Minerals Management Service employees, than it pertains to whether maps work together well across the department.

Geospatial is a 1-inch ripple in the water, and battleships pay no heed to such things.

#1 Archie Belaney on 2008-12-18 11:47 (Reply)

Archie:
You misunderstood to whom the remarks were directed. I was directing my comments at the appointment of Senator Ken Salazar. But, that said, it is highly unusual for a president or president-elect to pointedly refer to a department regarding the misdeeds or inefficiencies. What will Salazar do with GIS? And that should be more than a ripple on his radar screen.

#1.1 Joe Francica (Link) on 2008-12-18 13:00 (Reply)

What will Salazar do with GIS? Probably not a whole lot, I think.

GIS is a tool. GIS is a cool tool, and Google has shown that to the world. But GIS is a tool that professionals use when making decisions about water rights, land use, minerals exploitation, the science of the North Slope...and the politics of bears and other fubsy mega-fauna.

I suspect Salazar will pay GIS it's proper due, and allow Ms. Siderelis to manage its use. I wish her good luck and all good speed in her efforts, but the GLoB and FGDC are hardly on the same radar as the larger issues that DoI faces WRT the environment and resources.

#1.1.1 Archie Belaney on 2008-12-18 16:28 (Reply)

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In reply to	[ Top level ]#1: Archie Belaney on 2008-12-18 11:47   #1.1: Joe Francica on 2008-12-18 13:00     #1.1.1: Archie Belaney on 2008-12-18 16:28
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