Gale Norton - - (Secretary of the Interior)

Appearing at the SEJ conference in Portland, Oregon on Friday October 19, Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton responded to journalists' questions about incorrect information that she gave to congress. Environmental groups have been critical of the Bush administration's approach to environmental issues and Norton has become a lightning rod for criticism. Under questioning Norton addressed the errors in her recent report to the Energy and Resources Committee regarding the expected effects of oil drilling on caribou calving in the Arctic National Wildife Refuge and promised to correct the one error of fact that she admitted to. A coalition of environmental groups is calling for her resignation and for congressional hearings into"the possible ethical and legal implications" of her alteration of Fish and Wildlife Service data.