Jewell Makes First NW Return As Interior Secretary
Interior Secretary Sally Jewel made her first public stop in the Northwest in Portland Thursday, six weeks into the job.
The Seattleite and former REI chief executive's official business in Portland was to announce roughly $4 million in grants to give young people summer jobs in conservation and trail work.
During her visit, she pitched in digging up invasive grasses on the edge of a wildlife refuge.
An activist from the group Columbia Riverkeeper used the chance to ask Jewell about proposed coal export terminals. The activist wanted to know if the Department of Interior will stop granting leases while it investigates whether companies have avoided paying royalties on export sales of coal mined on land owned by the Bureau of Land Management. Jewell didn't answer the question directly.
"Our charter within BLM is multiple use on those lands, and part of that is ensuring we get a fair return for the American people. So that's very important to us," she said.
Jewell is scheduled to appear Friday with Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber to sign off on several Northwest energy and infrastructure projects.
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