This Week at Interior November 5, 2021

Transcript:

This Week at Interior   

President Biden led the U.S. delegation this week at the COP26 in Glasgow...that's the United Nations' international conference to address the global climate crisis. Secretary Haaland is among 13 Cabinet Secretaries taking part in the conference. She's showcasing Interior's offshore commitments to wind development and our goal to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030. She also met virtually with Indigenous youth to discuss the impacts of climate change on young people, and on future generations. And she'll join leaders to discuss nature-based solutions to climate change, as well as the America the Beautiful initiative and our collaborative effort to conserve at least 30% of lands and waters by 2030. Throughout the week Secretary Haaland and the entire U.S. delegation have underscored that there is incredible opportunity and urgency for every single nation to make a generational investment in our global climate resilience. 

The Bureau of Land Management this week announced auctions for utility-scale solar energy development leases in each of the three solar energy zones in Arizona. The announcement helps advance the Biden-Harris administration’s goal to achieve 100% carbon-pollution-free electricity by 2035, and to permit 25 gigawatts of renewable energy on public land by 2025. 

November is Native American Heritage Month, a month set aside to celebrate the countless contributions of Indigenous peoples past and present, while re-committing ourselves to upholding our trust and treaty responsibilities, strengthening Tribal sovereignty, and advancing Tribal self-determination. 

"All of our work is done with the leadership of President Biden and an all-of-government approach to ensure Native American, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Island communities have a seat at the table. As the first Native American cabinet secretary, I know that we have a lot of work to do, but I also know that our ancestors are smiling down on us, giving us strength, and are proud of what we’ve accomplished so far." 

November is also National Military and Veteran Families Month. This week Secretary Haaland, the daughter of military parents herself, saluted those who serve alongside their loved ones, as they serve the country. She also shared resources for veterans and their families to increase access to the outdoors. 

"At Interior, we know that the outdoors can offer a place of solace and healing for servicemembers, veterans, and their families. In fact, we created a map of sites near military installations and VA facilities, so that public lands are just a click away to connect to a national park." 

You can find that map at nps.gov/subjects/military. 

The Bureau of Reclamation celebrated the completion of a decade-long project this week in partnership with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The agencies designed a new Nimbus Hatchery Fish Passage, which is a new fish ladder and flume fishway to collect adult fish more reliably. The new structure also features underwater public viewing windows. 

The holiday season approaches, and a new National Christmas Tree is firmly in place at President's Park in Washington D.C. The donated 27-foot-tall white fir from Middleburg Pennsylvania replaces the 2019 and 2020 tree, which succumbed to disease earlier this year. The National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony takes place annually in the park...the official date for this year's lighting will be announced soon at thenationaltree.org. 

And our social media Picture of the Week, autumn colors exploding like fireworks at Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park in Rhode Island. Secretary Haaland recently announced new expanded boundaries for the park, which will help strengthen the local economy and increase access to outdoor recreation in the region. 

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

That’s This Week, at Interior.  

This Week: Secretary Haaland and other top administration leaders join President Biden at the COP26 in Glasgow, the United Nations' international conference to address the global climate crisis; the Bureau of Land Management announces auctions for solar energy development leases in Arizona; marking National Native American Heritage Month, Secretary Haaland says the Biden-Harris administration is committed to making sure all Indigenous communities have a seat at the table; the Secretary salutes the service and sacrifice of military and veteran families; the Bureau of Reclamation celebrates the completion of the new Nimbus Hatchery Fish Passage in partnership with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife; a new National Christmas Tree is firmly in place at President's Park in Washington D.C. as the holiday season approaches; and autumn leaves show their colors in Rhode Island in our social media Picture of the Week! 

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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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