This Week at Interior June 24, 2022

Transcript:

Hi, my name is Sue Phillips, I’m the Director of the USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, joined here by the Idaho Water Science Center in beautiful Boise, Idaho and you’re watching "This Week at Interior!” (Cheers)  

This Week, at Interior  

Secretary Haaland this week announced $103 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for wildfire risk reduction efforts, and the establishment of an interagency wildland firefighter health and wellbeing program. The Secretary toured the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, where she met with federal firefighting leadership and received a briefing on this season’s fire outlook. 

During National Pollinator Week, Secretary Haaland, Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Shannon Estenoz, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams joined lawmakers and scientific experts for the first-ever Monarch Butterfly Summit in Washington, D.C. Interior announced that the Fish and Wildlife Service will establish a new Pollinator Conservation Center to address the decline of all pollinators, including monarch butterflies. Interior is also awarding $1 million to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Monarch Butterfly and Pollinators Conservation Fund. That public private partnership program aims to help reverse recent population declines and ensure the survival of the monarch butterfly and other pollinators. 

The National Park Service this week announced that visitor spending in communities near national parks reaped 42 and a half billion dollars in economic impact last year, while supporting more than 320-thousand jobs. National parks saw more than 297 million visitors in 2021, a 25-percent increase over 2020. 

The Bureau of Land Management joined the U.S. Forest Service and the five Tribes of the Bears Ears Commission this week, to celebrate their historic agreement to co-manage Bears Ears National Monument. They unveiled a new Bears Ears National Monument sign which includes insignias of the Hopi Tribe, the Navajo Nation, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, and the Pueblo of Zuni. 

The U.S. Geological Survey’s Earth Mapping Resources Initiative, known as Earth MRI, is getting a substantial investment, thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Nearly $75 million will be distributed to the Earth MRI program for critical minerals research in 30 states. Critical minerals power everything from household appliances and electronics to clean energy technologies like batteries and wind turbines.  

The Bureau of Reclamation – along with Assistant Secretary for Water and Science Tanya Trujillo and Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton -- marked its 120th anniversary with the groundbreaking of the B.F. Sisk Dam Safety Modification Project. The billion-dollar effort received a $100 million investment earlier this year from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Reclamation was officially established on June 17, 1902, helping to establish the American West as we know it today.

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That's This Week, at Interior. 

This Week: In Idaho, Secretary Haaland announces more than $100 million for wildfire prevention and firefighter wellbeing; it's the first-ever Monarch Butterfly Summit, aimed at reversing the decline of these invaluable pollinators; visitor spending in national parks adds up to a $42.5 billion impact on the economy; federal and Tribal partners celebrate a historic agreement to co-manage Bears Ears National Monument; the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law pumps tens of millions of dollars into Interior's critical minerals research; and the Bureau of Reclamation marks its 120th anniversary with the groundbreaking of a dam modification project in California.

  • Video
    08/29/2025

    Inside Interior | August 29, 2025

    Video

    Transcript:

    This is Inside Interior.

    From minerals to monuments, from public safety to public lands, the Department of the Interior is focused on energy, security, and preserving what matters most to America.

    First up: the U.S. Geological Survey just released the draft 2025 List of Critical Minerals - designed to guide federal investments, permitting, and policy decisions. New additions to the list? Potash, silicon, copper, silver, rhenium, and lead. These additions strengthen domestic mining, streamline permitting, and boost U.S. mineral processing - ensuring America remains resource-secure and globally competitive.

    In more good news, Interior just announced 42 new hunting and sport fishing opportunities across 87,000 acres of public land - that's three times more than the last administration allowed. It's a win for conservation, the outdoor economy, and the American way of life.

    In Washington, D.C., crime is down, and our Park Police are stronger than ever. And now, thanks to President Donald Trump’s latest executive order, more park police officers are being hired to keep America’s capital safe and secure. To thank our law enforcement for their brave work and dedication, Secretary Doug Burgum and Interior employees hosted a cookout this week for our Park Police officers in D.C. 

    Additionally, Interior deputized Customs and Border Protection officers to work alongside our park police to end rampant crime in our nation's capital.

    Mark your calendars for July 23, 2026, which has been officially designated by Interior as the Day of the American West, honoring the people, values, and traditions that shaped this nation’s frontier.

    And this past Monday, we celebrated 109 years of the National Park Service. That’s over a century of protecting America’s most treasured landscapes, from Alaska to the monuments in D.C.

    At Interior, we are building a safer, stronger, and more self-reliant America.

    That's it for this edition of Inside Interior.

    Have a Happy Labor Day Weekend.

    News and headlines from around Interior August 29, 2025

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