Latest News

Interior Department and Senator Brian Schatz Announce Additional Federal Support to Combat Rapid ‘Ōhiʻa Death (www.doi.gov)

08/29/2016

WASHINGTON - In response to a request from Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI), the U.S. Department of the Interior announced today $497,000 in additional federal funding to combat a tree-killing fungus that causes Rapid ‘Ōhiʻa Death (ROD), a disease that threatens the State’s tropical forests and delicate ecosystems which could jeopardize local water supplies and Hawai‘i’s economic vitality. The funding comes on the eve of the World Conservation Congress that is convening for the first time in the United States this week in Honolulu.

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Fact Sheet: United States-Mexico Relations (www.whitehouse.gov)

08/25/2016

The President hosted President Enrique Pena Nieto of Mexico on July 22. Mexico is one of the United States’ closest and most valued partners. Our countries are economically entwined. Mexico is our third largest trading partner, and on any given day more than $1.5 billion in bilateral trade crosses our border. We are working together to enhance our shared security by combating drug trafficking and transnational criminal organizations. The United States and Mexico partner regionally and globally, including to address Zika and other vector-borne diseases, provide support for refugees and protect the environment and promote clean energy. Today, the Presidents reaffirmed the close economic ties, took steps to ensure easier, safer facilitation of people and goods across our border, and enhanced our environmental, health, and security cooperation. They proved, in short, that we are stronger together.

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Interior Department Announces Framework to Safeguard the Nation’s Lands and Waters from Invasive Species (www.doi.gov)

08/25/2016

On February 18, 2016, the U.S. Department of the Interior released "Safeguarding America’s Lands and Waters from Invasive Species: A National Framework for Early Detection and Rapid Response." The report, called for by the White House Council on Climate Preparedness and Resilience, urges the National Invasive Species Council (NISC)—an interagency body created by Executive Order 13112—to provide leadership in early detection and rapid response for invasive species. The report outlines five recommendations to operationalize a national EDRR framework and strengthen EDRR actions from the local through to the national level. The Office of Policy Analysis and the NISC Secretariat co-led the development of the report which involved numerous NISC member departments as well as state and tribal governments and other stakeholder groups.

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