03/21/06 Keys to retire from Bureau of Rec

April 14th will be the last day on the job for John Keys. He's stepping down as the commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation after nearly 34 years with that federal agency and returning to his home in southern Utah. Keys is leaving public service at about the same time that Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton leaves Washington. KEYS "There was no connection between her leaving and my leaving. I had talked with her last summer about leaving at this time after we get through the budget so it was something I have been shooting toward. The surprise to me is that she was going to leave about the same time." Keys spent a lot of time in Idaho as the Pacific Northwest Regional Manager for the Bureau of Rec. He says it's the water users in Idaho who helped to make his work a lot easier. KEYS "Those district managers and those boards and the people that use that water they're the best. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with every one of them. I'm not sure the average person on the street appreciates those people and what they do." Idaho Water Users, the Family Farm Alliance and other western groups praised Keys for his five years of leadership at the Bureau. Tomorrow, Keys will look at the issues still facing Idaho, many of them likely to be there for the next several years. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott