This Week at Interior May 3, 2024

Transcript:

Hello, my name is Josh Boles, and I’m the Superintendent of First State National Historical Park. And I’m Senator Tom Carper from the State of Delaware. And you're watching This Week at Interior!

Secretary Haaland this week applauded President Biden’s expansion of the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument in northern California’s Inner Coast Range by nearly 14,000 acres. The new designation protects a striking 11-mile-long north-south ridgeline that is sacred to the Patwin people; the presidential proclamation also permanently renames the ridgeline "Molok Luyuk," which means Condor Ridge in the language of the Patwin people. The expansion of the monument advances the Biden-Harris administration’s work to support community-driven and Tribally led initiatives to conserve and restore our nation’s lands and waters through the America the Beautiful initiative.

Secretary Haaland, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland, and Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton joined Tribal, federal and state leaders at the Colorado River Indian Tribes community in Arizona to commemorate a historic water rights agreement. The agreement gives the Tribes the ability to lease, exchange or store a portion of their river water entitlement, for the first time ever. The visit underscored Interior's commitment to strengthening Indian Country with significant resources through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, which provides more than $13 billion directly to Tribes across the country.  
Secretary Haaland concluded the Department’s coast-to-coast celebration of National Park Week with a visit to Delaware's First State National Historical Park. She joined park staff, local, state and federal leaders for the grand opening of the park's new Welcome Center. Designated in 2015, First State is Delaware's only national park; it preserves, protects, and interprets the role of Delaware in the birth of the United States.

Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Shannon Estenoz wrapped up a weeklong tour of national parks throughout Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, where she highlighted how investments from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda are bolstering nature-based infrastructure to protect communities and habitats. At Biscayne National Park and the Mote Marine Lab at Key Largo, transformational investments through the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law are restoring corals along the coast. And in South Carolina the Assistant Secretary toured a number of sites, including Reconstruction Era National Historical Park, which honors the significance of this era.

Interior this week announced the availability of $71 million in funding through the President’s Investing in America agenda to help Tribal communities electrify their homes. It's the second round of funding from the Office of Indian Affairs’ Tribal Electrification Program, part of an overall $150 million investment from the Inflation Reduction Act — the largest ever investment in climate — to support the electrification of homes in Tribal communities.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this week announced the selection of four projects that will address early detection and rapid response for aquatic invasive species. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Matthew Strickler visited the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge Complex to announce the projects, which are funded through the Service’s Ecosystem Restoration Program. That program is receiving $4 million over four years through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to establish a pilot Rapid Response Fund for Aquatic Invasive Species.

And our social media Picture of the Week, things that make you go "Awww." From Yellowstone National Park we get this adorable image of a mama swallow returning to her nest, just in time to feed her three hungry babies, who aren't shy about letting Mom know it's time for lunch!

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That's This Week at Interior!  

This Week: Secretary Haaland applauds President Biden’s expansion of the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument in northern California’s Inner Coast Range; Interior leaders join Tribal, federal and state leaders in Arizona to commemorate a historic water rights agreement; Secetary Haaland helps cut the ribbon at First State National Park's new welcome center; we'll show you new investments from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda are bolstering nature-based infrastructure, protecting communities and habitats in South Carolina, Georgia and Florida; there's $71 million in funding on the way to help Tribal communities electrify their homes; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announces the selection of four projects aimed at detecting and responding to aquatic invasive species; and our social media Picture of the Week is strictly for the birds!

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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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