Lisa Jackson, Obama's choice to head the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, has gotten mixed reviews during her tenure as New Jersey's top environmental regulator. Industry's called her too tough, and green groups accuse her of not being tough enough.

She inherits a job that was riddled with controversy during the Bush administration, which tapped former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt to head it for just over a year, through 2004, after another New Jerseyan, Christine Todd Whitman, quit.

Jackson, the first black in the nation's top environmental post, pushed for re-prioritizing.

Many state regulators are pleased to see someone who's felt their pain in the post. And it's likely the designee, once confirmed, will be looking to Obama's new energy-environment czar, former EPA administrator Carol Browner. Browner got a firsthand look at Utah's environment when she visited to attend the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.