This Week at Interior September 27, 2024

Transcript:

This Week, at Interior

This week marked Climate Week, a chance for the Biden-Harris administration to continue demonstrating its commitment to addressing the climate crisis.

At Interior, we marked progress with multiple announcements to expand access to the outdoors, invest in climate resilience and restoration, and strengthen communities across our nation.

For example, in the single largest investment ever from the Land and Water Conservation Fund’s Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program, the National Park Service will invest more than $254 million into 54 projects in 24 states to redevelop or create new local parks that will help increase access to the outdoors, offer safer spaces, enhance the visitor experience and improve accessibility.

In Santa Fe, New Mexico, Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton joined local, state, federal and Tribal leaders to sign five water conservation agreements funded by President Biden’s Investing in America agenda that will advance water conservation across the West in the face of historic drought. Together the agreements are expected to conserve hundreds of thousands of acre-feet of water. The announcement is part of the Administration’s all-of-government effort to strengthen the stability and sustainability of the Colorado River System to support the families, farmers and ecosystems that rely on this vital basin.

And Interior this week announced a $71 million investment to electrify homes in 13 Tribal communities across Indian Country. This funding from the Inflation Reduction Act – the largest ever investment in climate – is a critical step toward the goal of electrifying all homes in the United States with clean energy sources and advances the administration’s work to reach a carbon pollution-free electricity sector by 2035.  

Interior also announced nearly $92 million in Investing in America funding for 19 projects to restore and protect aquatic ecosystems. It comes in part from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and will be awarded to research and construct projects in California, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington through the Bureau of Reclamation. These projects will improve the health of fish, wildlife and aquatic ecosystems.  

And finally, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement this week announced more than $9.9 million for Colorado to clean up dangerous and polluting abandoned mine lands, while creating good-paying, family-sustaining jobs and catalyzing economic opportunity. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides a total of $16 billion to address legacy pollution. Of that, the bureau has $11.3 billion to devote to abandoned mine lands over 15 years.

In the continuing effort to address the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples and human trafficking, the Departments of the Interior and Justice this week cohosted a virtual roundtable focused on improving media coverage of MMIP issues. The event comes as a response to recommendations from the Not Invisible Act Commission – a cross jurisdictional federal advisory committee, created by Secretary Haaland during her time in Congress. The roundtable provided a venue for Tribal leaders and representatives, survivors, advocates, and journalists to share the lessons learned and challenges faced in covering these issues.  

U.S. Geological Survey Director David Applegate took part in a celebration this week, marking the 40th anniversary of the Arctic Research and Policy Act, or ARPA. That landmark law laid the groundwork for collaboration between federal agencies and other groups working in the Arctic. In his remarks Director Applegate highlighted how USGS is a leader in providing vital information about climate change, and works with its federal, state and Tribal partners to better understand how Alaskan communities can become more resilient to the effects of a changing climate.

The mission is over for the Landsat 7 satellite, after more than 132,000 trips around the Earth and more than 3.3 million images. Launched in 1999, the hardy spacecraft exceeded its initial 5-year mission by 20 years, delivering invaluable scientific data for a full quarter century. The joint NASA and U.S. Geological Survey's Landsat mission continues on with Landsat 8 and 9, and the upcoming Landsat Next.

This Saturday, September 28, is National Public Lands Day, celebrating the connection between people and the green spaces in their communities with a coast-to-coast volunteer effort. As part of the national celebration, all entrance fees will be waived at all national parks and other public lands.

And our social media Picture of the Week, the colors of autumn coming alive in Michigan along Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Sleeping Bear is best known for its clear blue waters, and 65 miles of pristine sand, but this time of year, the rolling woodlands are the place to get that perfect fall photo.

Make sure you follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

That's This Week at Interior! 

This Week: Interior marks Climate Week with action on several fronts, including the single largest investment ever from the Land and Water Conservation Fund’s Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program; the Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner signs five water conservation agreements that will advance water conservation across the West in the face of historic drought; Interior announces a $71 million investment to electrify homes in 13 Tribal communities across Indian Country; nearly $92 million in funding is on the way for 19 projects to restore and protect aquatic ecosystems; Interior announces more than $9.9 million for Colorado to clean up dangerous and polluting abandoned mine lands; the Departments of the Interior and Justice cohost a virtual roundtable focused on improving media coverage of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples and human trafficking; the Arctic Research and Policy Act marks its 40th anniversary; after a quarter of a century it's the end of the line for a stalwart satellite; it's a "fee free" celebration of National Public Lands Day this Saturday; and some beautiful autumn colors light up our social media Picture of the Week! 

  • Video
    04/11/2025

    This Week at Interior April 11, 2025

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    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!


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    News and headlines from Interior April 11, 2025

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