Washington - The US Interior Secretary, Ms Gail Norton, has appointed as her Alaska adviser the chief lobbyist for drilling in the Alaskan National Wilderness Reserve (ANWR), Mr Cam Toohey, writes Patrick Smyth.
Mr Toohey is currently the spokesman for Arctic Power, the lobby group funded by the Alaskan legislature and oil companies to lobby for development of the North slope of the Brooks range.
The appointment, which will enrage environmentalists, is a sign that the US administration is still determined to press for development despite the shift in the control of the Senate.
