When Governor-elect Branstad appointed Muscatine attorney Roger Lande to become the next Director of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, progressives viewed the appointment with skepticism. Simply put, he lacks credentials for the position and we are concerned about conflicts of interest. With a legal practice in business acquisitions, corporate law and employment law, one questions what, if anything, he knows about current practices to manage air quality, water quality and a staff of more than 1000 employees.

When Lande was appointed, the Governor-elect said, “I can think of no one better to be a steward of Iowa’s precious natural resources than Roger Lande. Roger and his family have long been champions of conservation of Iowa’s rivers, woodlands, greenways, prairies and trails and I am confident that Roger will excel in his new role as head of Iowa Department of Natural Resources.”

While no one doubts Lande's good intentions in “working with various conservation organizations and the people of Iowa to continue to preserve and protect Iowa’s precious natural resources we have come to know and love,” some red flags have already been raised by the appointment.

In December, Lande said, “I want to find out why so many Iowa water bodies are rated as unsuitable for human contact and what we can do about it.” This comment seems disingenuous. We understand that Lande will need to learn the ropes of the DNR's water quality program, but there is really no question that Iowa's poor water quality is mostly a result of industrial agriculture. Despite the efforts of individual farmers to be good stewards of the land, the runoff from row crops and concentrated animal feeding operations has contaminated our waterways and created dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico. Instead of working with Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey to improve agricultural practices that contribute to poor water quality, he discussed “how our departments can work together to develop more habitat for pheasants.” This is concerning.

Muscatine, where Lande's law office is located, has air quality that is among the worst counties in the state. In Muscatine, Grain Processing Corporation receives a lot of flak about local air quality that has been found to be in non-attainment of federal and state standards. What is closer to the truth is that Muscatine's air quality is also impacted by more than a dozen other local concerns that received permits from the Air Quality Division of the Iowa DNR. It is also affected by agricultural and electrical power generation emissions from as far away as Council Bluffs. While some locals believe Lande's Muscatine connection will be a positive, air quality as one of his priorities is conspicuous by its absence. As a Muscatine attorney, he simply must be aware of the issue, so why isn't it an initial priority?

Much has been made of Lande's association with the Isaak Walton League but that is no substantial credential for his new position. It reflects well on Lande's judgment that he decided to retain Pat Boddy as Deputy Director of the DNR, which should help with transitioning the office. While progressives are skeptical of Lande's appointment, in many ways, his confirmation as Director of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources boils down to answering this question:

Who among Roger Lande's legal clients do business with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and does it represent a conflict of interest? Hopefully Democratic State Senators will get a chance to ask Lande this question and get an adequate answer before voting on his confirmation.