"Interior: Zinke Revamps Reorganization Maps After Governors Complain"

"Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has redrawn his ambitious plan for reorganizing the Interior Department after the agency received numerous complaints from Western leaders and members of Congress that splitting up states into multiple regions would cause more harm than good.

Facing pushback from governors of both parties — who objected to not being consulted on maps released last month proposing to divide management of millions of federal acres into 13 regions along boundaries of watersheds and basins — Zinke is now proposing to largely follow state lines more closely in setting up new management territories.

The new map still divides Interior into 13 regions but avoids splitting up states like Colorado, Wyoming and Utah into multiple regions, as proposed in a map released last month during a two-day meeting in Washington with about 150 Interior senior executives."

Scott Streater and Michael Doyle report for Greenwire February 23, 2018.

SEE ALSO:

"Following Some State Boundaries, Zinke Redraws Interior Map" (AP)