WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today thanked Interior Secretary Ken Salazar for his service to the country. Salazar announced Wednesday that he would be retiring from the Department of the Interior by the end of March.

“I want to thank the secretary for his service to the nation both as a senator and in his time at the Department of the Interior. Being the nation’s top steward, responsible for one-fifth of all the land in the United States, is no easy task and Secretary Salazar performed it with the utmost dedication to his principles,” Murkowski said.

“The Interior Department has a huge influence on Alaska’s economy as the landlord of more than 220 million acres within our borders. Alaska’s future depends on our ability to access and develop our natural resources under federal control. I encourage President Obama to choose a replacement who will work in partnership with Alaska and other western states to ensure their future economic success.”

Murkowski is the ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, the authorizing and appropriating committees with oversight of the Interior Department.