RMFU President Welcomes Nomination of Salazar for Interior

“We’ll miss having him in the Senate, but Ken Salazar will be an excellent Secretary of the Interior,” stated RMFU President Kent Peppler. “Senator Salazar has been a champion of agriculture and a friend. He was instrumental in shaping the 2008 Farm Bill. He listened to our concerns about renewable energy, livestock production, and permanent disaster relief, and he acted to see that the bill balanced the best interests of producers and consumers. His numerous awards and honors from Rocky and from National Farmers Union are a testimony to his hard work and dedication. We hope Gov. Ritter names a replacement who understands agriculture and rural Colorado, and supports family farming and ranching, as effectively as Senator Salazar has.

“As Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar will be in a position to guide the stewardship of our natural resources. His leadership in protecting Pinon Canyon and Colorado’s oil shale from hasty development makes me confident that he will weigh the needs and well-being of all Americans and protect our rural heritage from exploitive interference for short-term benefits.”

Peppler concluded, “Family farming is at the center of conservation and wise land use. Senator Salazar brings generations of that tradition of stewardship to the Department of the Interior. We will be pleased and excited to see him take on these new responsibilities, and we look forward to helping him in any way we can.”