Former Interior Secretary Udall dies at 90

SANTA FE, N.M. — Stewart Udall, an elder in a famed political family who led the Interior Department as it promoted an expansion of public lands and helped win passage of major environmental laws, has died at the age of 90.

During his 1961-68 tenure as secretary of the interior, Mr. Udall sowed the seeds of the modern environmental movement. He later became a crusader for victims of radiation exposure from the government’s Cold War nuclear programs.

President Obama praised Mr. Udall’s service.

“Whether in the skies above Italy in World War II, in Congress or as secretary of the interior, Stewart Udall left an indelible mark on this nation and inspired countless Americans who will continue his fight for clean air, clean water and to maintain our many natural treasures,” he said.

Mr. Udall died of natural causes Saturday at his home in Santa Fe, surrounded by his children and their families, according to statement released through the office of his son U.S. Sen. Tom Udall.

The elder Mr. Udall, brother of the late 15-term congressman Morris Udall, served six years in Congress as a Democrat from Arizona and then headed the Interior Department from 1961 through 1968 under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. His son Tom Udall and nephew Mark Udall also became congressmen, and both were elected to the Senate in 2008, from New Mexico and Colorado, respectively.

The senior Mr. Udall helped write several of the most far-reaching pieces of legislation, including the Wilderness Act of 1964, which protects millions of acres from logging, mining and other development.

“I never lost an argument with the budget people under either Kennedy or Johnson. If you had a new national park or a new policy on wilderness or something on wild rivers … they’d say: ‘Go ahead. It’s a good idea,’” Mr. Udall once said.

More than 60 additions were made to the National Park Service during the Udall years, including Canyonlands National Park in Utah, North Cascades National Park in Washington, Redwood National Park in California and the Appalachian National Scenic Trail stretching from Georgia to Maine.

Ken Salazar, the current secretary of the interior, called Mr. Udall “one of the greatest secretaries of the interior in my lifetime.”

He “was a pioneer and a visionary in protecting America’s natural resources and cultural heritage who exemplified his family’s commitment to public service,” Mr. Salazar said. “Stewart Udall will be greatly missed.”

In a 1963 book, Mr. Udall warned of a “quiet conservation crisis” from pollution, overuse of natural resources and dwindling open spaces. He appealed for a new “land conscience” to preserve the environment.

“If in our haste to ‘progress,’ the economics of ecology are disregarded by citizens and policy-makers alike, the result will be an ugly America,” Mr. Udall wrote. “We cannot afford an America where expedience tramples upon esthetics and development decisions are made with an eye only on the present.”

After leaving government service, Mr. Udall taught, practiced law and wrote books. In 1979, he left Washington to return home to Arizona. In doing so, Udall began another career — leading a legal battle against the government he had once served as an influential insider.

Mr. Udall helped bring a lawsuit against the government on behalf of the families of Navajo men who suffered lung cancer in mining uranium for the government. Another lawsuit sought compensation for people who lived downwind from above-ground nuclear tests in Nevada during the 1950s and early 1960s.

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