Washington (Platts)--1Jun2007

US Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne has created a climate-change
task force at the department to study how best to monitor and mitigate the
effects of global warming on the agency's extensive land holdings. 

     The task force is headed by deputy secretary of the Interior Lynn
Scarlett, and Interior Department spokesman Chris Paolino said it would
include a broad range of department employees, including land managers,
scientists and policy specialists.  

     The group is organized into three subcommittees -- legal and policy
issues; land and water management issues and climate-change scientific issues
related to Interior's responsibilities, Kemphtorne's office said in a
statement.

     The task force will be responsible for examining the department's
monitoring techniques to determine whether they are adequate to detect the
effects of climate change on different terrains. 

     In addition, the agency said the task force will be finding ways to
promote energy conservation and renewable energy on public lands to help
combat climate change.

		--Jean Chemnick, jean_chemnick@platts.com