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Hello from Cuyahoga Valley National Park in
Ohio.

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Welcome to This Week at Interior!

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(Music)

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This Week, at Interior

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Secretary Haaland was on the road this week
in Ohio, where she announced more than $144

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million is available to help states and Tribes
address abandoned mine lands.

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That's in addition to the $725 million available
this year under President Biden’s Bipartisan

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Infrastructure Law.

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The visit was part of the Secretary's ongoing
tour of Appalachia and commitment to invest

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in coal communities.

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On her second day in Ohio the Secretary met
with elected officials, community leaders,

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and Interior employees to highlight infrastructure
investments that are helping to preserve,

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protect and restore Ohio’s lands and waters.

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She toured an orphaned oil and gas well site
at Cuyahoga Valley National Park, then visited

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Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge in Oak Harbor,
where she discussed ongoing efforts to restore,

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enhance and reconnect coastal wetland habitats.

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The Secretary also traveled to Maryland this
week where she continued Interior's celebration

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of Women's History Month with a visit to Harriet
Tubman Underground Railroad National Historic

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Park.

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Tubman, born 200 years ago this month, helped
many enslaved people find freedom before and

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during the Civil War.

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The Secretary also visited the Blackwater
National Wildlife Refuge, which surrounds

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the park and preserves the landscapes familiar
to Tubman as she grew up, escaped slavery,

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then returned to free others.

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Martha Williams was sworn in this week as
Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

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Martha will play a critical role in implementing
the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s $1.4

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billion investment in ecosystem restoration
and resilience, which will help restore America's

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lands, and fund stewardship contracts, ecosystem
restoration projects, invasive species detection

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and prevention, and native vegetation restoration
efforts.

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Interior is joining the Department of Agriculture
and the Federal Emergency Management Agency

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to accept applications for the Wildland Fire
Mitigation and Management Commission.

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The commission was established under the Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law to recommend federal policies

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and strategies that more effectively prevent,
mitigate, suppress and manage wildland fires,

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and help rehabilitate areas where a fire has
struck.

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The commission is scheduled to meet for the
first time in late spring of this year.

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this week
announced it's asking for proposals to help

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restore the health and vitality of the Klamath
Basin in Southern Oregon and Northern California.

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More than $160 million is available to fund
restoration projects through the Bipartisan

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Infrastructure Law.

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The Service is soliciting ideas from Tribes,
local and state agencies, non-governmental

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organizations, and other conservation partners.

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The Bureau of Reclamation this week announced
that water levels for Lake Powell will decline

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below target levels, due to an abnormally
dry winter season.

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Lake Powell is an artificial reservoir on
the Colorado River in Utah and Arizona, the

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second largest in the United States behind
Lake Mead.

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Reclamation says water levels on the lake
should improve throughout the upcoming spring

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runoff.

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With continued decline in COVID-19 infections
and recent updates to Centers for Disease

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Control guidance, the National Park Service
this week updated its masking guidance to

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align with the CDC’s new COVID-19 community
levels tool.

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While masks are still required on all forms
of enclosed public transportation, other masking

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requirements now vary by park based on local
conditions.

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Visitors should check park websites when planning
their visit, and all are always welcome to

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wear a mask if they choose.

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Happy birthday to one of the oldest bureaus
in the federal government.

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On March 11th, 1824 the Bureau of Indian Affairs
was administratively established to oversee

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and carry out the federal government's trade
and treaty relations with Native American

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Tribes.

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Over almost two centuries since, the Bureau's
mission has evolved dramatically as federal

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policies designed to subjugate and assimilate
American Indians and Alaska Natives have changed

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to policies that promote Indian self-determination.

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And our social media Picture of the Week,
one of the most visually striking geologic

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sandstone formations in the world, Arizona's
Coyote Buttes North, more commonly known as

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"The Wave."

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You'll find it in the undeveloped backcountry,
and Bureau of Land Management permit-holders

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can hike a physically demanding 6.4-mile round-trip...along
the way experiencing the brilliant cliffs

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and a variety of wildlife species of a geologically
spectacular area.

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

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That’s This Week, at Interior.

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(Music fades)