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Former Secretary of the Interior James "Jim" Watt dies at 85
Wyoming born, bred and educated, Watt made a national name for himself as a staunch pro-development, anti-environmentalist heading up Reagan’s Department of the Interior.
James “Jim” Watt, a former U.S. Secretary of the Interior from Lusk, died recently at the age of 85 in Arizona.
Born, raised and educated in Wyoming, Watt rose to national prominence when President Ronald Reagan nominated him for the high post at Interior in 1980. By then, Watt had already made a name for himself back home in Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain West, especially among ranchers, farmers and miners who believed the federal government infringed on their livelihoods. He also founded and helmed the Mountain States Legal Foundation — a powerful and aggressive law office which pioneered a model of challenging environmental and public-lands regulations. In fact, the organization had pending lawsuits against the department when he took charge of it, according to reporting from the era.
Watt gained a reputation as one of Reagan’s most controversial cabinet appointments, mostly for uncompromising views on environmentalism — an attribute that both landed him, and cost him, the job.
“When Jim became Secretary of Interior he told me of the things that needed doing, the things that had to be set straight,” Reagan said in a 1983 radio address following Watt’s resignation. “He also told me that if and when he did them, he’d probably have to resign in 18 months.”
Watt’s stint atop Interior lasted 33 months and was distinct for its flavor of righteousness. He fired dozens of staff attorneys and other personnel involved in enforcement of environmental standards, saying they’d been hired illegally by the Carter administration. Watt also called for a moratorium on all new land acquisitions for the National Park System and steered a proposal by Reagan’s economic advisors to sell up to 5% of the country’s public lands to reduce the national deficit.
Born, raised and educated in Wyoming, Watt rose to national prominence when President Ronald Reagan nominated him for the high post at Interior in 1980. By then, Watt had already made a name for himself back home in Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain West, especially among ranchers, farmers and miners who believed the federal government infringed on their livelihoods. He also founded and helmed the Mountain States Legal Foundation — a powerful and aggressive law office which pioneered a model of challenging environmental and public-lands regulations. In fact, the organization had pending lawsuits against the department when he took charge of it, according to reporting from the era.
Watt gained a reputation as one of Reagan’s most controversial cabinet appointments, mostly for uncompromising views on environmentalism — an attribute that both landed him, and cost him, the job.
“When Jim became Secretary of Interior he told me of the things that needed doing, the things that had to be set straight,” Reagan said in a 1983 radio address following Watt’s resignation. “He also told me that if and when he did them, he’d probably have to resign in 18 months.”
Watt’s stint atop Interior lasted 33 months and was distinct for its flavor of righteousness. He fired dozens of staff attorneys and other personnel involved in enforcement of environmental standards, saying they’d been hired illegally by the Carter administration. Watt also called for a moratorium on all new land acquisitions for the National Park System and steered a proposal by Reagan’s economic advisors to sell up to 5% of the country’s public lands to reduce the national deficit.
https://wyofile.com/former-secretary-of-the-interior-james-jim-watt-dies-at-85/
22 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
face RIGHT instead of LEFT
He was an embarrassment to the environmental movement.
both got fired! 
