Washington » Sen. Ken Salazar will take the reins of a "deeply troubled" Interior Department, President-elect Barack Obama said Wednesday, setting up the Colorado Democrat to reverse course from the Bush administration's actions in the sprawling agency.

Obama formally nominated Salazar to the secretary post Wednesday and also designated former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack to head the Agriculture Department, saying the two men will be good "stewards of God's Earth."

"It's time for a new kind of leadership in Washington that's committed to using our lands in a responsible way to benefit all our families," Obama said at a news conference in Chicago bookended by Vilsack and Salazar. "That means ensuring that even as we are promoting development where it makes sense, we are also fulfilling our obligation to protect our national treasures."

Salazar, who has declined public comment since his appointment leaked out Monday, made brief remarks stressing his commitment to preservation and energy independence.

"I will do all I can to help reduce America's dependence on foreign oil. I look forward to working directly with President-elect Obama, as an integral part of his team, as we take the moon-shot on energy independence."

Obama called the Interior Department, criticized for harboring too much of a pro-development bent, as a "deeply troubled" department.

"Part of what I want to put an end to is an Interior Department that sees its job as simply sitting back waiting for whoever has most access in Washington to extract what they want," Obama said, adding he wants a proactive agency that will talk to farmers, ranchers and be at the cutting edge of environmental and energy policy.

The president-elect touched on one issue directly relating to Utah, oil shale, saying that if there's a discussion of tapping that resource on federal lands in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming, "I want Ken at the table because he can help sort through what are legitimate claims."

Salazar has advocated a go-slow approach to extracting oil shale, expressing fear that rushing to develop it could leave the West scarred.

Some Interior actions, though, may already be too late for Salazar to overturn.

The sale of leases for thousands of acres of federal land in Utah, for example, is set to go forward this week and once those drilling leases are handed out, they become a property right that may be difficult to take away.

"It is possible to change some of what happened in the Bush administration," says Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond in Virginia. But with some actions in the pipeline and others related to regulation, "the devil will be in the details."

While Salazar earned praise from several environmental groups Wednesday, others complained that his appointment represented too much of a compromise.

"Ken Salazar does not bring the change we need at Interior," said Nicole Rosmarino of WildEarth Guardians. "Salazar will not take strong stances on behalf of science and environmental protection and is not up to the task of undoing the enormous damage the Bush administration has done to public lands, endangered species, and the credibility of the Department of the Interior over the last eight years."

Salazar, donning his staple cowboy hat and bolo tie, ticked off a broad agenda if he is confirmed by the Senate, including restoring rivers, modernizing the nation's electrical grid and protecting parks and open lands and spaces.

Like Obama, the fifth generation Westerner opposes drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

"I look forward to serving as a strong voice in his administration, for the West and for the nation," he said.

William H. Meadows, president of The Wilderness Society, said Salazar is an "excellent choice" to head the department at a critical time when the West faces "extraordinarily complex energy, conservation, and development challenges."

"He understands the need to defend the West's land, water, wildlife and communities while appropriately exploring for oil and gas and other extractive resources," Meadows said.

tburr@sltrib.com