This Week at Interior July 16, 2021

Transcript:

This Week at Interior 

Secretary Haaland took part in a solemn U.S. Army ceremony this week in Pennsylvania, joining representatives of the Rosebud and Oglala Sioux Tribes, to return the children who died at the Carlisle Indian School. That school was among a number of Indian Boarding Schools that attempted to erase Native languages and culture from the American story. The Secretary said she's committed to elevating this tragic history so that we can build a better future for our children.  

Secretary Haaland and National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy toured abandoned mine lands in central Pennsylvania this week. They were highlighting the Biden-Harris Administration's efforts to reclaim those lands, and help communities eliminate dangerous legacy pollution, all while creating good-paying union jobs and advancing environmental justice. Secretary Haaland said hardworking coal communities help power our country, and that Interior is committed to helping working families who face hazardous pollution, toxic water levels, and land subsidence long after coal companies have moved on. 

The U.S. Geological Survey this week announced a new study of COVID-19 to better estimate disease occurrence and trends in populations, and help strengthen current testing approaches. USGS says strategic testing, based on specific objectives, can provide information valuable for decisions about both individual healthcare and protecting communities, and could be done with relatively few additional tests and non-invasive surveys. 

After a six-month closure due to COVID-19, the Washington Monument reopened to the public this week. The Monument will be open seven days a week from 9am to 5pm, and masks are required for everyone, regardless of vaccination status. Tickets are only available online, at recreation.gov. 

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management this week announced an agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and St. Lucie County in Florida...the agreement gives the Corps of Engineers access to 800,000 cubic yards of federal sand to rebuild and restore coastal resiliency in the area.  

Interior has a new Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks. Shannon Estenoz was sworn in this week by Secretary Haaland with her family looking on. Prior to joining the administration, Shannon served as the Chief Operating Officer of The Everglades Foundation. 

The Bureau of Land Management turns 75 years old this week. It was July 16th, 1946 when President Harry Truman merged the General Land Office and the Grazing Service to create BLM, which now proudly manages about 245 million acres of public landscapes for all Americans. 

And our birthday Bureau also manages the site of our social media Picture of the Week: Oregon's Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area. Part of BLM's National Conservation Lands, the 95-acre site is home to this iconic lighthouse, and provides hundreds of thousands of annual visitors a place for hiking, bird and whale watching. 

Make sure you visit *us* on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and You Tube, and give us a follow while you're there.    

That’s This Week, at Interior.   


 

This Week: Secretary Haaland takes part in a solemn ceremony to return the Native children who died at the Carlisle Indian School; the Secretary and National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy tour abandoned mine lands in central Pennsylvania, highlighting the Administration's effort to fight pollution, create jobs, and advance environmental justice; USGS announces a new COVID-19 study aimed at improving current testing approaches; the Washington Monument reopens to visitors after a pause for the pandemic; BOEM and its partners get ready to rebuild some Florida beaches; Interior has a new Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks; it's happy 75th birthday to BLM; and we spotlight an iconic lighthouse in our social media Picture of the Week!

  • Video
    04/11/2025

    This Week at Interior April 11, 2025

    Video

    Transcript:

    (MUSIC BEGINS)


    This Week at Interior

    President Trump this week signed Executive Orders aimed at achieving the Administration's goal of American Energy Dominance with a renewed focus on coal. One of the orders directs Interior to identify untapped coal resources on federal lands, while removing barriers to mining and leasing.

    The value of untapped coal in our country is one hundred times greater than the value of all the gold at Fort Knox, and we're going to unleash it and make America rich and powerful again.

    To advance the President Trump's order, Interior will implement a series of policy moves and regulatory reforms to position coal as a cornerstone of the nation’s energy strategy by ensuring federally managed lands remain open and accessible for responsible energy development. Secretary Burgum likened the actions to creating a new Golden Age of "Mine, Baby, Mine," saying that  

    Interior is unlocking America’s full potential in energy dominance and economic development to make life more affordable for every American family while showing the world the power of America’s natural resources and innovation.  

    Among the actions are ending the moratorium on federal coal leasing, reopening federal lands in Montana and Wyoming to coal leasing, removing regulatory burdens for coal mines, and providing royalty rate relief.  

    Interior this week announced the disbursement of more than $13 million in grants to support the reclamation of abandoned mine lands, furthering the Trump administration’s commitment to American Energy Dominance, environmental stewardship and economic renewal in coal communities. The funding is administered through the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, and it will support job creation and economic revitalization efforts in North Dakota, Tennessee and Texas.  

    Interior this week announced the release of updated oil and gas reserve estimates for the Gulf of America's Outer Continental Shelf. The new data and analysis over the last couple of years reveal an additional 1.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent since 2021, bringing the total reserve estimate to 7.04 billion barrels of oil equivalent. That figure includes 5.77 billion barrels of oil and 7.15 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Earlier this year, the Trump administration announced plans to significantly increase oil and gas leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf, and just last week Secretary Burgum directed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to hold the first Gulf of America oil and gas lease sale since its renaming in February.

    Secretary Burgum held his first All Hands meeting this week at Interior's historic Yates Auditorium. The Secretary saluted the notable accomplishments the Department has achieved in making the transition from the previous administration, and expanded on his vision that innovation, rather than regulation, is the cornerstone of American prosperity.

    The thing that has led our country for 250 years is innovation, doesn't matter whether it's the Agricultural Revolution, the Industrial Revolution our ability to innovate in a way that allowed us to win World War One and World War II and lead the world and become the world leader, all of it was innovation based, and we have to get back to those roots. That's how we win. That's how America wins in this world, that's how we win again for our children and our children's children, is we win with innovation.

    U.S. Geological Survey crews were deployed late last week and this week to monitor flood impacts after storms dumped heavy rain across portions of the southeast and Midwest. Crews are still hard at work gathering flood measurements in Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois and Ohio, as well as West Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi, where as much as ten inches of rain fell causing massive flooding. The gages provide information for the National Weather Service to predict when dangerous flooding might occur and allow for warnings to vulnerable residents, as flood crests will continue into early May.

    And our social media Picture of the Week, California's Battery Point Lighthouse. Perched on California's rugged northern coast, this historic beacon stands among the rocky outcrops of the California Coastal National Monument and has guided mariners since its first lighting in 1856.

    Make sure you follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and X! That's This Week at Interior!


    (MUSIC ENDS)

     

    News and headlines from Interior April 11, 2025

    Read more