The Washington Post reports that Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) is a “leading contender” for Interior Secretary. He’s the chair of the House Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands. The article points out that Grijalva has a 95% rating from the League of Conservation Voters. He’s also the newly-elected co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Congress. If you really want to get into it, he just released a 23 page report (PDF) on the Bush administration’s failure to protect our public lands. Or you can browse through his legislative record, which is impressive. In particular, he appears to have a dedicated interest in American Indians, who fall under the purview of Interior, and who were consistently ignored and abused under both the Bush and Clinton administrations. Okay, not to mention back to ~1492, but there has been a bi-partisan disinterest in Indian rights, so Grajilva is a potentially re-assuring pick for both them and those interested in parks / endangered species conservation.

He also seems to be getting universal approval from various and sundried bloggers, so… cool. (Lots of positive response / comments at Dos Centavos, Screechowl at Daily Kos, and Ralph Maughan’s Wildlife News)