Press Releases

The Department of the Interior today announced that more than $50.6 million in funding has been approved by the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission, providing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its partners the ability to help conserve, restore or enhance more than 106,600 acres of wetlands and associated upland habitats for waterfowl, shorebirds and other birds across the United States.

The Biden-Harris administration’s Department of the Interior-led Interagency Working Group on Mining Laws, Regulations, and Permitting (IWG) today released its final report containing recommendations to reform and improve the way mining is conducted on U.S. public lands.

The Department of the Interior today announced nearly $3.5 million in 2023 Indian Youth Service Corps (IYSC) grants to eight projects involving more than 20 Tribes and Tribal organizations.

Under the Pelly Amendment to the Fishermen’s Protective Act of 1967, when the Secretary of the Interior finds that “nationals of a foreign country . . . are engaging in trade or taking which diminishes the effectiveness of any international program for endangered or threatened species,” such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Secretary must certify that fact to the President.    

The Department of the Interior and Department of Defense’s Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve program have signed a Statement of Support honoring our commitment to being an employer of choice for our nation's guardsmen, reservists, veterans and their families.

Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs Carmen G. Cantor and Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland visited Ottawa, Canada, this week to highlight the United States’ ongoing work with Canadian leadership to ensure that Indigenous and First Nations communities have the support and resources they need to prosper.

The Department of the Interior today announced the launch of a new large-scale water recycling program and made $180 million in initial funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law available for projects aimed at creating new water supplies that are less vulnerable to drought and climate change.

The Department of the Interior today announced $5 million from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to support the restoration of bison populations and grassland ecosystems in Tribal communities.

The Biden-Harris administration today announced significant steps to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (Arctic Refuge) and more than 13 million acres in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A).

The Departments of the Interior and Agriculture today announced that, as part of a settlement with the sole remaining lessee, the final federal oil and gas lease in the Badger-Two Medicine area will be relinquished.