Inside Report (1)

Interior Secretary James Watt says he's just restoring balance. Critics say he is putting too many foxes in charge of the public's henhouses. In a booklet titled ''Who's Minding The Store?'' Common Cause reports that 11 of the top 16 Interior Department officials (including the secretary himself) have worked for or served businesses in the five major industries regulated by that department. Common Cause president Fred Wertheimer charges that the backgrounds of the Reagan-era appointees show ''a disproportionately industry-oriented perspective.''

Watt calls the Common Cause charges ''warmed-over hash'' and says he's merely making up for the large number of environmentalists appointed by Jimmy Carter.