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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.

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This Week at Interior

Secretary Burgum this week directed the National Park Service to implement an Executive Order from President Trump, aimed at enhancing public safety and cleaning up NPS lands in the District of Columbia. The new directives focus on revitalizing public spaces, addressing crime and making the nation's capital both cleaner and safer for both residents and visitors. The Secretary says the actions will help improve the experience for those who call D.C. home, as well as the millions who visit the Nation's Capital each year.

The U.S. Park Police are doing their part to keep DC safe...their arrest and investigation of a serial robbery suspect in December 2023 led to a guilty plea this week. 25-year old David Crocker pled guilty to multiple counts of armed robbery and firearms violations, stemming from a series of robberies near Anacostia Park before he was apprehended and arrested by Park Police officers. Crocker's sentencing is scheduled for June 4th.

Secretary Burgum directed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to hold the next scheduled oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of America this week. The latest surveys from BOEM put the amount of technically recoverable oil and gas resources in undiscovered fields in the Gulf of America at more than 29 and a half billion barrels, along with nearly 55 trillion cubic feet of gas. The Secretary says Unleashing America’s energy resources will lower prices at the pump, at the grocery store and across all aspects of American life while strengthening our national security.

Secretary Burgum sat down with Fox News to share the Department’s historical accomplishments in unlocking America’s energy potential. On "My View with Lara Trump," recorded at the U.S. Park Police Stables on the National Mall, the Secretary said that conservation and responsible stewardship are at the heart of the administration's goals to unleash American Energy Dominance.  

President Trump wisely understands that affordable reliable energy is the key to prosperity here at home in terms of driving our economy forward. Because energy is not an industry it is the foundation of every industry, and now it's also critical to our national security in terms of artificial intelligence, so he created the National Energy Dominance Council. Our job is to drive forward, cut red tape, and make sure that we can have the energy to power our economy and to support all of our allies.  

The Secretary also shared his excitement about celebrating America’s upcoming 250th birthday and the role that Interior plays in planning for that celebration.  

U.S. Geological Survey scientists at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory are closely monitoring high fountaining lava during the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption. Lava fountains at the south vent reached over 700 feet this week, well over the height of the Washington Monument. USGS is working closely with the Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park Service to ensure visitors in the area are staying safe from emissions of sulfur dioxide gas and small fragments of volcanic glass. You can check out the eruption from home via the USGS live stream.

And our social media Picture of the Week, one of the iconic barns of Mormon Row, as snowcapped mountains catch the rays of the rising sun at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. The barn is one of two on adjacent homesteads, the legacy of Mormon settlers in Jackson Hole in the 1890's. Now they're a popular spot for pictures... and are often called the most photographed barns in the world.

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This Week at Interior

President Trump's Cabinet met this week at the White House to discuss savings garnered by the cancellation of contracts, part of the effort to eliminate wasteful federal government spending through the Department of Government Efficiency. Secretary Burgum outlined savings to the tune of $830 million gained with the cancellation of a contract to perform surveys, the product of which he compared to the work of a child.  

The surveys came back, and it was... the survey was like an eight and half by eleven sheets of paper with ten questions that anyone's child in junior high could have put together, or AI could have done for free. $830 million, so that's one that we've stopped.

Secretary Burgum was a guest this week on CNBC's Squawk Box, talking about a range of issues from critical minerals to affordable housing on underutilized Federal Lands suitable for residential development. He also addressed last week's move to unlock Alaska's vast energy potential, and renewed efforts to tap huge reserves of oil and natural gas in America's largest state.  

This is in an important project for national security and President Trump has opened all that up again in the last week, and of course a lot of that is on Interior land. We've been supporting President Trump's direction, in that direction...in a meeting with the mayor of the North Slope, I mean this is an area that's you know, one and half times almost the size of Montana. There's 11,000 Alaska Natives that live up there, they want to have the development. Their lifespan went up a 15 years increase, once we had the first road that came into that area after the original Alaska oil development and so there's just a tremendous resource there that we need to use for national security purposes and for the benefit and economic development of the people that live there that want it.  

Secretary Burgum says under President Trump's leadership, Interior is driving historic growth in offshore oil and gas production, reinforcing the United States’ position as a global energy leader. He says industry projections indicate offshore production could surpass 2 million barrels per day by 2025-2026, marking an all-time high for the U.S and that...

The Energy Dominance strategy unleashed unprecedented investment in American energy. By cutting red tape, streamlining permitting, and ensuring regulatory certainty, we are unlocking the full potential of our offshore resources while maintaining the highest safety standards. These efforts continue to deliver affordable energy for American families and businesses.  

Interior this week announced the Department generated over $39 million in total receipts from oil and gas lease sales held in the first quarter of 2025 – underscoring Interior's continued commitment to responsible energy development on public lands and American Energy Dominance.  These revenues reflect an ongoing focus on unleashing domestic energy production in line with Trump administration policies, which include job growth, and reducing reliance on foreign resources through efficient, streamlined permitting and leasing processes.  

Interior this week announced the disbursement of nearly $354 million in energy revenues to the four Gulf of America oil- and gas-producing states: Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. The Gulf of America is a critical resource in ensuring that America can become Energy Dominant and meet demands through domestic sources. On average, 58 percent of oil production on federal lands and waters comes from the Gulf of America.    

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reopening the public comment period for a proposed rule to list the monarch butterfly as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. Monarchs in the Americas range from Canada to Mexico, but scientists say their numbers have fallen by 80% in the eastern United States, and by as much as 95% in the west. The comment period will be reopened until May 19 to give all interested parties an additional opportunity to comment on the proposed rule.

It's been a long road back for areas devastated nearly eight years ago by Hurricane Irma, but thanks to President Trump’s Great American Outdoors Act, or GAOA, an iconic building at Virgin Islands National Park is well on its way. The centuries-old Cinnamon Bay Danish Warehouse once lay in ruins after the storm. With GAOA funding crews from the Historic Preservation Training Center have set about stabilizing the structure's foundations and restoring its 17th Century character, just one example of the National Park Service's mission to ensure the continued preservation of our national heritage for generations to come.

And our social media Picture of the Week, a little motherly love at Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge in Hawai'i, where this Hawaiian goose, or nēnē, keeps its little chick close. Once on the brink of extinction due to over-hunting, habitat destruction, and non-native predators, the stunning nēnē has made a remarkable comeback. Thanks to successful reintroduction efforts in the 1980s and 1990s, small populations were reestablished on Kaua‘i. Now the statewide population has steadily grown... the nēnē, while still threatened, is no longer listed as endangered.  

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This Week at Interior

Secretary Burgum this week is taking immediate steps to unleash Alaska’s untapped natural resource potential and support President Trump’s vision of American Energy Dominance. The Bureau of Land Management will move forward with efforts to increase exploration and development in both the National Petroleum Reserve and the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The BLM will also work towards partial revocation of public land withdrawals that will help solidify the path forward for the proposed Ambler Road and Alaska Liquified Natural Gas Pipeline projects.

In this initial suite of actions, the Interior and BLM will pursue:

Reopening up to 82% of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska available to leasing and expanding energy development opportunities in the approximately 23-million-acre reserve. 

Reinstating a program that makes the entire 1.56-million-acre Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge available for oil and gas leasing. 

And revoking withdrawals along the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Corridor and Dalton Highway north of the Yukon River in order to convey these lands to State of Alaska. This action would help pave the way forward for the proposed Ambler Road and the Alaska Liquified Natural Gas Pipeline project, two projects that stand to increase job opportunities and encourage Alaska’s economic growth. 

Through these actions and more to come, Interior is set to deliver on the President’s promise to unlock Alaska’s abundant supply of natural resources for the benefit of Alaskans and the nation, providing economic and national security for many generations to come.

To revive offshore energy development efforts, President Trump this week signed a joint resolution disapproving the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s rule titled "Protection of Marine Archaeological Resources." The rule, published last year under the previous administration, mandated that all new oil and gas leaseholders on the Outer Continental Shelf submit archaeological reports in previously unsurveyed areas where operations proposed seafloor disturbing activities. Secretary Burgum applauded the move, saying that offshore energy development is a vital component of our national security and a critical driver of American prosperity.  

Interior this week announced permanent pay increases for federal and Tribal wildland firefighters across the United States after President Trump signed the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act into law. As wildfires grow larger and more destructive — threatening communities, livelihoods, and infrastructure — wildland fire personnel face growing demands. Improving firefighter pay will help address this challenge by enabling the Department and Tribes to hire and retain top employees in this critical field.

Secretary Burgum and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner this week announced a new Joint Task Force to increase the supply of housing and decrease home ownership costs for millions of Americans. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed the Secretaries said Interior and HUD will identify locations that can support homes while pinpointing where housing needs are most pressing.

HUD will work with DOI to assess the housing needs in areas where federal lands may be available yet underutilized and implement tailored housing programs with guidance from states and localities. This partnership will identify underutilized federal lands suitable for residential development and streamline the land transfer process. It'll also promote policies that increase the availability of affordable housing while balancing important environmental and land use considerations.  

Interior this week announced the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has completed the transfer of 680 acres of land to the Bureau of Indian Affairs to be held in trust for the Spirit Lake Nation in Benson County, North Dakota. The transfer marks the culmination of a many decades' long effort by the Spirit Lake Nation and reflects the administration’s commitment to strengthening tribal sovereignty, promoting economic opportunities, and enhancing the quality of life for Indigenous people.

The Bureau of Land Management this week conducted a competitive online sale through the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act. Eight parcels totaling nearly 42 acres in the Las Vegas Valley were sold, generating more than 16 and half million dollars. Eighty-five percent of those funds will go to projects throughout Nevada, such as the development of parks, trails, and natural areas, hazardous fuels reduction, landscape restoration projects and more.

And our social media Picture of the Week, here’s to warmer temperatures, new life and dramatic splashes of every imaginable color, as spring finally arrives in the Northern Hemisphere. Here at Redwood National and State Parks in California, it won't be long before the fields and hills are covered with the park's iconic blooms of lupine, as far as the eye can see.  

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This Week at Interior  

Following an executive order issued by President Trump, Secretary Burgum signed a Secretary’s Order renaming the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge in Texas to the Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge. The renaming honors 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray, who was murdered by illegal immigrants in North Houston, Texas, in June 2024. Secretary Burgum said the President's dedication ensures her name will always be remembered. This refuge, where life flourishes, will stand as a lasting tribute to her memory, a place of reflection, and a call to action to protect our children and uphold justice.

Secretary Burgum traveled to Houston this week to take part in the Cambridge Energy Research Associates' annual executive conference, known as CERAWeek. The conference brings together executives, government officials and thought leaders from the energy, policy, technology, and financial industries to discuss and develop solutions for the future of energy, the environment, and climate. The Secretary hailed the excitement and enthusiasm for American Energy Dominance he found at CERA, as the nation redoubles its mining efforts and offshore energy development.

Interior this week announced the approval of a federal mining plan modification by the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement for the Spring Creek Mine in Big Horn County, Montana, operated by the Navajo Transitional Energy Company. This decision extends the mine's operational life by 16 years, enabling the production of approximately 39.9 million tons of federal coal and supporting 280 full-time jobs.  

The Bureau of Land Management this week approved the Sapphire gen-tie transmission line and facilities project on approximately 40 acres of public lands in eastern Riverside County, California. The line will connect the planned Sapphire Solar photovoltaic and storage facility on private lands to the electric grid. Once operational, the project will transmit and store up to 117 megawatts of solar energy daily.

The U.S. Geological Survey this week released projections for world production capacity for seven critical minerals and helium for the next five years in the first World Minerals Outlook, part of a larger effort to provide forecasts and scenarios for global mineral supply chains. Among the findings -- the world’s capacity to produce cobalt and lithium, two elements critical to the batteries used to power mobile devices, tools and vehicles, is expected to double over the next five years. See the full report at usgs.gov

The work continues at the Tidal Basin Seawall Rehabilitation Project in Washington DC, funded by the Great American Outdoors Act. Since August hundreds of pilings have been driven into place and capped to raise the level of the seawall and prevent flooding, part of the $113 million project scheduled to wrap up next year. The National Park Service has worked hard to minimize the effect on cherry blossom season, now just weeks away.  

There will be some impact to this year's cherry blossom season, we did have to take down about 148 of the cherry trees, but there are still more than 2500 cherry trees around the Tidal Basin. All the walkways are open, all the roads are open, so still plenty of good opportunity to come down and celebrate spring in the Nation's Capital.

The National Wildlife Refuge System turns 122 years old this week. On March 14, 1903 President Theodore Roosevelt set aside tiny Pelican Island in Florida for the protection of pelicans and other birds. Today there are more than 550 refuges across the country providing space for wildlife and places for all Americans to recreate and reconnect with the great outdoors.

And our social media Picture of the Week, these yellow-headed blackbirds just hanging out at Wyoming's Cokeville Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. Yellow heads typically winter in the southwest United States and Mexico, then head back north for springtime breeding in noisy colonies across the West and Midwest.

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This Week at Interior

Secretary Burgum was on hand this week as President Trump held the first Cabinet meeting of his new administration, gathering his Department heads at the White House, discussing the most pressing issues and taking questions from reporters. Afterward in the Rose Garden the Secretary joined other Cabinet Secretaries to discuss with reporters the path forward to make American Energy Dominant under President Trump’s vision for the nation.  

First Cabinet meeting, it was fantastic. But of course, we’re working for a leader, President Donald J. Trump. He’s given all of us clear direction through Executive Orders. He’s empowering us to go get the job done. We know what we have to do.

Secretary Burgum also sent out his "welcome back to the office" message this week as most Interior employees have returned to their in-person workspaces. The Secretary said the Department workforce's commitment to Interior’s multiple missions is what drives our success, and that he's thrilled workers are back together.  

He said that while this transition may bring some adjustments, it is also an exciting opportunity to reconnect, collaborate, and continue to strengthen our efforts as one team to serve the American people. Working side by side in our shared office space, we will be a hub of creativity, innovation and teamwork, and we look forward to the dynamic conversations and problem-solving opportunities that will benefit our great nation.

Secretary Burgum this week welcomed the Western Governors Association to a working breakfast at Interior, along with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. Among the topics discussed were energy, land management and federal partnership with the states. The WGA is a non-partisan organization representing 19 states and three territories.

And Secretary Burgum, the Bureau of Land Management and the Utah Trust Lands Administration this week completed the final steps to execute a historic land exchange between the BLM and the State of Utah. Congress mandated the move as part of the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act of 2019 -- through the exchange Utah will gain additional water rights, along with tens of thousand of acres containing rich deposits of oil, coal, and natural gas, the revenues on which will directly benefit Utah public schools.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management this week announced the cancellation of a previous set of recommendations aimed at protecting Rice's whales during oil and gas activities in the Gulf of America. The cancellation reflects a new Department priority for increasing American energy production.

This week is National Invasive Species Awareness Week, an annual event to raise awareness about invasive species, the threat that they pose, and what can be done to prevent their spread. Invasive species are any nonnative organism whose introduction to a particular ecosystem can cause economic or environmental harm, or harm to human, animal or plant health. They cause an estimated $120 billion in environmental damages and losses annually in the United States. Find out more in our blog at doi.gov.

Last year, two National Park Service staffers at Big Bend National Park in Texas stumbled on a tiny plant they didn't recognize...now it turns out no one could have, because what they discovered was a plant not known to science. The fuzzy foliage and interesting flower they found among the park's desert rocks is a new genus within the daisy family, officially called "Ovicula biradiata," but researchers refer to as the "woolly devil."

The National Park Service this week made its annual prediction for the peak bloom of Washington DC's storied cherry blossoms --sometime between March 28th and 31st. That's the time when some 70% of the Yoshino cherry trees are likely to be in bloom around the Tidal Basin and National Mall, bringing with them hundreds of thousands of eager tourists. The trees were gift to the United States from the people of Japan in 1912. This year's National Cherry Blossom Festival runs from March 20th through April 13th.

And our social media Picture of the Week, winter hangs on in Nevada's Shoshone Mountains. They're among the longest mountain ranges in the Silver State, stretching 66 miles across the high desert, spanning 400 square miles of public lands managed by the BLM. It's a rugged landscape, offering vast, open spaces for exploration.  

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This Week at Interior

Secretary Burgum was on hand this week at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin signed a final rule approving the State of West Virginia’s request to regulate the injection of carbon dioxide into deep rock formations. The move, known as "Class VI Primacy," acknowledges that the state is best positioned to protect its underground sources of drinking water while bolstering energy independence.

This is a great day for West Virginia, and it's a great day for America, because we're delegating responsibility back to the state where it belongs and where it can be responsibly executed. And again, at the end of the day part of the EPA's mission is to make sure that we've got clean air, clean water, clean soil health all of those things, but this action helps move us in that direction.  

West Virginia is the fourth state granted Class VI primacy under the Trump administration, joining Louisiana, North Dakota and Wyoming.

Unleashing American energy was just one of a range of topics on the agenda this week as Secretary Burgum welcomed Fox News' "Special Report with Bret Baier" to Interior for a live broadcast from the Yates Auditorium. Along with energy as a national security issue, the Secretary also talked about issues affecting the nation's economy, recent meetings with the Japanese and Indian ambassadors, and outdoor recreation.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs this week launched Operation Spirit Return, an initiative to help solve missing and unidentified person cases involving American Indians and Alaska Natives in the United States. The initiative is being conducted by the Bureau's Missing and Murdered Unit and will focus on reuniting remains with family members and returning them to their tribal communities.  

Secretary Burgum this week welcomed the governors and delegates of American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands to the Interagency Group on Insular Areas. The annual meeting allows representatives of the island territories direct access to administration leaders to discuss the many issues and challenges they face back home.

And our social media Picture of the Week, the Ansel Adams Wilderness in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. This stunning region is named in honor of the legendary photographer and environmentalist Ansel Adams, who captured the beauty of the American West through his iconic black-and-white landscapes.  

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