Colorado: Salazar

WASHINGTON — In one of her earliest appearances before the Senate Natural Resources Committee, Gale Norton, President George W. Bush's first interior secretary, proclaimed in 2001 the need to "explore the entire smorgasbord of different options" when it came to domestic energy production.

But what was actually on the buffet was telling: Drilling off the coast of Florida, coal extraction in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah and exploring for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.

Now fast forward eight years, to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar's first appearance before the same Senate committee last week.

He laid out maps that showed wind-energy potential across the West; talked about tapping geothermal energy underlying states including Idaho and Colorado; and evoked the vision of a high-tech "super- electron highway" that will connect "renewable-energy zones" on public lands to homes in California or New Jersey.

Here's how some major bills fared recently in Congress and how Colorado's congressional members voted, as provided by Thomas' Roll Call Report Syndicate.

HOUSE

The Colorado delegation District 1: Diana DeGette (D) District 2: Jared Polis (D) District 3: John Salazar (D) District 4: Betsy Markey (D) District 5: Doug Lamborn (R) District 6: Mike Coffman (R) District 7: Ed Perlmutter (D)

CONSERVATION

For: 282/Against: 144 Members failed to reach a two-thirds majority for passing a bill to give wilderness protection to 2.1 million acres in California, Colorado, Idaho, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia and protect federal land in other states.

Gov. Bill Ritter heads to Pueblo today for the first time since the tongue-lashing he received in January, in part over his pick for the U.S. Senate.

Ritter will speak tonight at the Pueblo County Democrats' annual St. Patrick's Day Dinner.

And on Saturday he has two events in Pueblo, a bill signing and a job fair for a wind tower plant scheduled to open later this year.

"It is essential on Gov. Ritter's part to be there," said Sen. Abel Tapia, D-Pueblo. "I think the governor has heard loud and clear the cries of Pueblo Democrats."

Ritter's spokesman, Evan Dreyer, said Pueblo is important to the governor.

In a letter sent this week (PDF), state Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, pleads with Attorney General John Suthers to intervene regarding concerns over air pollution in southwest Colorado resulting from the Four Corners Power Plant.

"We're hoping Attorney General Suthers helps us because there is currently a lawsuit going on, which is crossing some very unique lines," Tipton said.

The plant is located on the Navajo Nation in New Mexico, so there are jurisdictional issues when trying to curb pollution from the plant. While New Mexico has its own rules regarding air pollution, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the state has no jurisdiction over the FCPP because it is located on Native American tribal lands.