Interior Department chief of staff departing

Interior Department Chief of Staff Tom Strickland, who is also a top conservation official with the department, is leaving the department in February after about two years on the job.

Strickland is both chief of staff and Interior’s Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks. The Senate confirmed Strickland as assistant secretary in late April 2009.

“Tom has been a driving force in standing up our Interior leadership team, launching a 21st century conservation agenda, leading initiatives such as the Everglades restoration, and helping restore the Gulf after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill,” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Monday in a statement.

Salazar called Strickland, who he has known for over 30 years, a “dynamic leader.”

Salazar and Strickland both spoke to The Denver Post about his departure and told the paper it “was voluntary and that it is in no way indicative of a shake-up in the Interior Department,” their piece notes. 


Interior’s announcement said Strickland — who was Colorado’s Democratic nominee for Senate in 1996 and 2002 — will pursue “other opportunities.” Strickland told the Post that he will likely return to the private sector and remain in Washington, D.C.

“I asked him not to leave. I begged him. I'll miss his 80-hour weeks," Salazar told the Post.

Before joining Interior, Strickland was executive vice president and chief legal officer of UnitedHealth Group, and prior to that was managing partner of the law firm Hogan & Hartson’s Colorado offices.

He was also a U.S. attorney representing Colorado from 1999-2001. Other roles included a stint as policy adviser for then-Colorado Gov. Richard Lamm (D) between 1982 and 1984.

Strickland’s was the focus of a small controversy for taking what was described as a work-related trip to the Grand Canyon, which included rafting, during the early days of the BP oil spill. He told the Post he went to the Gulf of Mexico region at least 20 times during the oil spill crisis.

Laura Daniel Davis will replace Strickland as chief of staff when he departs, according to Interior, moving up from her role as deputy chief of staff. Before coming to Interior, she was an aide to then-Rep. Mark Udall (D-Colo.), who is now a senator.

Will Shafroth, the principal deputy assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks, will fill Strickland’s shoes as acting assistant secretary until a new assistant secretary is confirmed, Interior said.

This post was updated at 11:15 a.m.