Secretary Salazar's First Message to Interior Employees

On Jan. 21, his first day at Interior, Secretary Salazar sent the following message the departmental employees:

I am honored to write you in my first full day of service as the 50th Secretary of the United States Department of the Interior.

It was an extraordinary privilege to walk through the doors of the Main Interior Building this morning, to be greeted so warmly, and to begin our work together.

This is a particularly special moment for me. On my family’s ranch in the rural San Luis Valley in southern Colorado, my parents taught me and my seven brothers and sisters the values of hard work, service, and stewardship. Through four centuries in New Mexico and Colorado, my ancestors taught us that to preserve the balance that allowed us to farm and ranch, generation after generation, we had to serve as good stewards of the water, soil, and wildlife around us.

I inherited an ethic of service from my father, Henry–a staff sergeant in World War II–and my mother, Emma–who came to Washington to work in the War Department. They taught me the values that inspire so many Americans to pursue careers in public service and to give their lives to the betterment of our country. From the Fish and Wildlife Service employees who help protect the wildlife refuges of my native San Luis Valley to the Bureau of Reclamation engineers who help us conserve precious water resources, the Department has a proud tradition of service.

Over the last few days, the work of the Department has been on full display. Thanks to the exceptional planning and professionalism of DOI employees, the record number of visitors who descended on our Nation’s Capital safely experienced an extraordinary and historic Inauguration. I appreciate all your work to make the Inauguration an unparalleled success. Thank you to all. 

In the coming days and weeks, I look forward to meeting you and to learning more about your work and ideas.  I look forward to sharing my vision for the Department, including how I believe we can strengthen our stewardship of our Nation’s land and water resources, how we can help build a clean energy economy for the twenty-first century, and how we can restore the integrity of our nation-to-nation relationship with Native American communities.  

Before all else, though, I pledge to you that I will lead the Department with openness in decision-making, high ethical standards, and respect for scientific integrity. I will work hard on your behalf every day to make you proud.