This Week at Interior March 18, 2022

Transcript:

Greetings from Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. And you're watching "This Week at Interior." 

This Week, at Interior  

Secretary Haaland concluded a two-day visit to Maryland this week with a tour of Masonville Cove, the nation’s first Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership that connects the city’s residents to the outdoors. The Secretary then traveled to Catonsville to tour the Patapsco River Restoration Project and discuss how nature-based-solution projects can enable ecosystems and communities to be more resilient to climate change. She highlighted the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s $200 million investment in the National Fish Passage Program, which supports aquatic ecosystem restoration projects to restore fish passage and aquatic connectivity. 

The Secretary took the stage this week at the South by Southwest Conference in Austin, Texas. She presented what she called "Auntie Deb’s Guide to Equity & Inclusion," which outlined her philosophy about why representation matters, how to take it to the next level, and what can be possible when we recognize America’s full history and provide space for all voices to have a seat at the table. 

Secretary Haaland saluted Women's History Month this week, a time to highlight the inspiring women who break barriers and challenge systems designed to keep them out. 

At Interior, we’re making strides in increasing representation of women in leadership and fostering an environment for women to grow – no matter what field they work in. It’s an incredible responsibility that we don’t take lightly, and I challenge others to do the same. Take time this month to thank the fierce women in your life who make the world a better place. 

Secretary Haaland marked her first anniversary at Interior's helm this week. She was sworn in one year ago as the first Native American Cabinet Secretary in U.S. history, and calls the past year nothing short of engaging, inspiring, and memorable, but most of all, impactful...from Interior's role in implementing the American Rescue Plan and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to our work advancing solutions to the major environmental issues facing our communities, including drought, wildfire, and legacy pollution.   

Deputy Secretary Tommy Beaudreau wrapped a three-day visit to Idaho, Washington, and Oregon this week, where he highlighted the historic investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in wildfire resilience, conservation and ecosystem restoration. At the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, he was briefed on the ongoing drought crisis and its impact on the upcoming fire season...he also underscored President Biden’s call that no federal firefighter will make less than $15 an hour this year. Then it was off to Spokane, Washington, where he delivered remarks at the American Wildlife Conservation Partners’ Spring Meeting to highlight the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s investments in conservation initiatives. And in Oregon he was joined by Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams for a visit to Cape Meares National Wildlife Refuge to highlight the Infrastructure Law's $1.4 billion investment in ecosystem restoration and resilience. 

New research by the U.S. Geological Survey, the Yurok and Karuk Tribes, and others, suggests that traditional ecological indigenous practices to remove forest fuels, in what is now northern California, created healthier forests. The work suggests that it’s federal suppression policies that have doubled the amount of fuels in the area since it was colonized by Euro-American settlers in approximately 1850. That report appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement this week announced that a new tool for advancing safety in oil and gas operations on the Outer Continental Shelf, is now available to industry and the public. The new web-based dashboard increases transparency and improves BSEE and the industry’s ability to improve inspection planning, as well as safety and environmental stewardship. 

And our social media Picture of the Week is also our birthday greeting to the National Wildlife Refuge System. Founded by President Theodore Roosevelt on March 14th, 1903, the refuge system is a diverse network of lands and waters in all 50 states and 5 territories, dedicated to conserving America’s rich fish and wildlife heritage. 

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

That's This Week at Interior. 

This Week: Secretary Haaland concludes a two-day visit to Maryland, where she highlighted the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s $200 million investment in ecosystem restoration; the Secretary took the stage at the SXSW Conference to explain why representation matters; Interior celebrates Women's History Month; Secretary Haaland marks her one-year anniversary at Interior's helm; Deputy Secretary Beaudreau wraps up a three-day visit to Idaho, Washington and Oregon; new research shows traditional forest management by Tribes may have done a better job of preventing forest fires than modern practices; there's a new tool to enhance safety practices off the Outer Continental Shelf; and our social media Picture of the Week sends our birthday greetings to the National Wildlife Refuge System! 

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    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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