Outgoing US Interior secretary defends legacy as he leaves

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — As former U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke exits Washington amid a cloud of unresolved investigations and criticism of his actions favoring industry, he told The Associated Press that he has lived up to the conservation ideals of Teddy Roosevelt and insisted that the myriad allegations against him will be proven untrue.

The former Montana congressman also said he quit President Donald Trump's cabinet on his own terms, despite indications he was pressured by the White House to resign effective Wednesday.

During almost two years overseeing an agency responsible for managing 500 million acres of public lands, Zinke's broad rollbacks of restrictions on oil and gas drilling were cheered by industry. But they brought a scathing backlash from environmental groups and Democratic lawmakers who accused him of putting corporate profits ahead of preservation.

In his first interview since Trump announced his resignation last month, Zinke said the changes he made at Interior meshed with Roosevelt's beliefs and were needed to unfetter energy companies held back by unreasonable drilling curbs imposed under former President Barack Obama.

"Teddy Roosevelt said conservation is as much development as it is preservation," Zinke said, quoting from a 1910 speech by the Republican president. "Our work returned the American conservation ethic to best science, best practices ... rather than an elitist view of non-management that lets nature take its course."

House Democrats plan to put Zinke's almost two-year tenure under the spotlight with oversight hearings beginning next month, said Adam Sarvana, a spokesman for Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, the Democrat in line to lead the House Natural Resources Committee.

The hearings initially will focus on policy changes under Zinke's leadership including "giveaways" to the oil and gas industry, Sarvana said. He added that the hearings later could be expanded to include the various ethics investigations pending against Zinke if those allegations are shown to have merit.