This Week at Interior October 20, 2023

Transcript:

Hi, everyone, I’m Deb Haaland, Secretary of the Interior. And I’m Camille Calimlim Touton, Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation. And I’m Billy Idol. And you’re watching ‘This Week at Interior.’ Yeah! 

This Week at Interior 

The Biden-Harris administration announced the next steps to protect the long-term stability and sustainability of the Colorado River beyond 2026. The Bureau of Reclamation published a Scoping Report that details the post-2026 planning efforts that will eventually replace the 2007 interim guidelines for Lake Powell and Lake Mead. The post-2026 planning process is separate from the ongoing, concurrent efforts to protect the Colorado River Basin through the next three years. This announcement builds on the historic investments from the President’s Investing in America agenda to help increase water conservation, improve water efficiency, protect critical environmental resources, and prevent the Colorado River System’s reservoirs from falling to critically low elevations that would threaten water deliveries and power production. 

Secretary Haaland, Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Shannon Estenoz, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams made a visit to the new Paint Rock River National Wildlife Refuge in Franklin County, Tennessee this week to celebrate the newest addition to the National Wildlife Refuge System. This furthers the Biden-Harris administration’s work to support community-driven efforts to conserve and restore the nation’s lands and waters through America the Beautiful. The visit came at the end of National Wildlife Refuge Week, which commemorates the important role the Refuge System plays in providing vital habitat for wildlife species, offering outdoor recreation access to the public, and bolstering climate resilience across the country. 

Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs Carmen Cantor was on hand this week for the signing of three agreements between the United States and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. The Compacts of Free Association serve as a framework for the U.S. relationship with its former trust territories, and will assist in tackling the climate crisis, promoting sustainable economic development, and bolstering security in the region. The agreements further our nation’s commitment to a Pacific region that is secure, free and open and more prosperous.  

A new survey from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies shows that Americans last year spent nearly $400 billion on hunting, fishing and other wildlife-associated recreation. Americans ages 16 and older spent a combined total of 14 billion days on the hunt, on the water and around the home viewing wildlife, which is an all-time high.  

The U.S. Geological Survey held its annual Great ShakeOut earthquake preparedness drill on 10/19 at 10:19 across communities nationwide. More than half of all Americans are exposed to potentially damaging earthquakes that can occur with very little warning. And while some regions are more prone to seismic activity than others, it's crucial to remember that earthquakes can impact nearly all regions of the United States. 

You can join the White House and National Park Service this year at the annual national Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony in President's Park. A free ticket lottery will open online to the public on November 1, with the lighting ceremony taking place on November 30. Presented by the National Park Service and the National Park Foundation, this beloved American tradition features musical performances and the official ringing in of the holiday season. It was first celebrated in 1923 by President Calvin Coolidge. 

And our social media Picture of the Week...what creature is fluffy, boldly colored and packs a chemical defense so powerful it can stop even bears in their tracks? That’s right, we’re talking about our little friend clad in black and white: the skunk, pictured here at Bear Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Idaho. 

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

That's This Week at Interior. 
 

This Week: The Biden-Harris administration announces next steps to protect the long-term stability and sustainability of the Colorado River System; Interior leaders visit Tennessee to celebrate the newest addition to the National Wildlife Refuge System; three new agreements with the Republic of the Marshall Islands will bolster its economy, security and help fight climate change; a new survey shows the powerful economic impact of hunting and fishing in the great outdoors; the Great ShakeOut tests earthquake readiness across the country and around the world; it's almost time to get your seat for this year's National Christmas Tree Lighting; and we'll take you to Idaho for a fragrant 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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    News and headlines from Interior April 11, 2025

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