# James Watt U.S. Secretary of the Interior under [[Ronald Reagan]] (1981–1983) and a leading figure in the Sagebrush Rebellion, the Western movement to transfer federal public lands to state or private control. Watt opened federal lands and offshore areas to mining, drilling, and logging at an unprecedented scale, framing environmental regulation as government overreach. His appointment was championed by the [[Heritage Foundation]], and his tenure established the template for [[Deregulation]] of natural resources that Republican administrations have followed since.