• U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke speaks Wednesday, May 23, 2018, at the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference in the Bismarck Event Center in Bismarck, N.D. (Tom Stromme/The Bismarck Tribune via AP) Photo: Tom Stromme, AP / The Bismarck Tribune
Photo: Tom Stromme, AP
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U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke speaks Wednesday, May 23, 2018, at the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference in the Bismarck Event Center in Bismarck, N.D. (Tom Stromme/The Bismarck Tribune via AP)
U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke speaks Wednesday, May 23, 2018, at the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference in the Bismarck Event Center in Bismarck, N.D. (Tom Stromme/The Bismarck Tribune via AP)
Photo: Tom Stromme, AP
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Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, left, speaks at Peaceful Valley Ranch in Theodore Roosevelt National Park on Tuesday, May 22, 2018 while touring the area with park superintendent Wendy Ross, center, and North Dakota governor Doug Burgum, right. Peaceful Valley is near Medora and dates to 1885 and overlooks the Little Missouri River and Badlands of western North Dakota. (Tom Stromme/The Bismarck Tribune via AP) less
Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, left, speaks at Peaceful Valley Ranch in Theodore Roosevelt National Park on Tuesday, May 22, 2018 while touring the area with park superintendent Wendy Ross, center, and ... more
Photo: Tom Stromme, AP
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U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, right, speaks with Theodore Roosevelt National Park Superintendent Wendy Ross during a visit to the park in western North Dakota on Tuesday, May 22, 2018. Zinke reiterated his support for addressing a maintenance backlog at national parks during a visit to the one named for the U.S. president known for being a champion of conservation. less
U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, right, speaks with Theodore Roosevelt National Park Superintendent Wendy Ross during a visit to the park in western North Dakota on Tuesday, May 22, 2018. Zinke reiterated ... more
Photo: Blake Nicholson, AP
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BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke faced protests and a heckler as he delivered a message of government cooperation at a large energy industry conference in North Dakota.

Zinke told the crowd Wednesday at the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference in Bismarck that government needs to be a better partner with the energy industry. He said that would improve innovation, safety and environmental stewardship.

Nineteen-year-old Alex Hilzendeger of Bismarck says he thinks the Trump administration is too cozy with energy companies. He stood up during Zinke's speech and shouted at him before being removed by security. He wasn't arrested.

Members of the Sierra Club rallied outside the conference, imploring Zinke to oppose an oil refinery planned near Theodore Roosevelt National Park in western North Dakota. Zinke says he's gathering facts about the project.