WASHINGTON, D.C. - Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced today that Assistant Secretary for Water and Science Mark Limbaugh will be leaving the Department of the Interior effective July 13, 2007 to pursue opportunities in the private sector.
“Mark Limbaugh’s tenure at the Department of the Interior has reflected his strong commitment to excellence and integrity. His dedication to the Bureau of Reclamation and the Department of the Interior and his ability to find common ground and common sense solutions to difficult regional and national issues are widely respected,” Secretary Kempthorne said. “His leadership has enabled us to significantly reduce conflict and crisis over water availability in the West, and to improve our ability to provide and communicate science for a changing world.”
Limbaugh joined the Department in January 2002 as Director of External and Intergovernmental Affairs for the Bureau of Reclamation to oversee the agency’s Congressional and Legislative and Public Affairs activities. He was appointed Deputy Commissioner in June 2003. He was confirmed to serve as Assistant Secretary for Water and Science in July 2005.
Limbaugh also has served as a Director for the U.S. Committee on Irrigation and Drainage and actively has been involved in various state and federal water organizations throughout his career.
He previously served as president of the Family Farm Alliance, Watermaster of Idaho's Payette River Basin, and executive director of the Payette River Water Users Association.
A native of Fruitland, Idaho, and for many years an Idaho family farmer, Limbaugh earned his B.S. cum laude in 1978 from the University of Idaho and is a Certified Public Accountant.