This Week at Interior December 2, 2022

Transcript:

This Week at Interior 

Interior this week hosted the 2022 White House Tribal Nations Summit. The Summit provided an opportunity for Administration and Tribal leaders to discuss ways the federal government can invest in and strengthen nation-to-nation relationships as well as ensure that progress in Indian Country continues for years to come. Interior leaders announced several new initiatives and policies to advance the Biden-Harris administration's commitment to strengthening Indigenous communities, including Tribal co-stewardship of public lands and waters and updating Tribal consultation policies. Interior also announced historic funding from President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to assist Tribal communities severely impacted by climate-related environmental threats. 

The Biden-Harris administration announced several critical agreements this week following the 19th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES. This week's agreements will help ensure legal, traceable and biologically sustainable international trade of wild animals and plants. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the lead agency for CITES implementation in the United States.  

Interior this week announced a historic agreement to fight the worsening drought crisis impacting the Salton Sea, California's largest lake. Under the agreement, the Bureau of Reclamation will provide $22 million in new funding through the Inflation Reduction Act to implement dust suppression projects and aquatic restoration efforts. Reclamation will also provide an additional $228 million over the next four years to expedite existing projects and bolster staffing capacity at state water agencies to help deliver new projects. 

The largest land volcano in the world woke up this week for the first time in nearly 40 years. Hawai'i's Mauna Loa volcano began erupting late Sunday night, joining the neighboring Kilauea volcano which has been active for the last 14 months. Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey are closely monitoring the situation. The two volcanoes, part of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, last erupted together in 1984. 

Season's greetings from the Ellipse in Washington, D.C., where Secretary Haaland joined President Biden and the First Lady this week for the 100th lighting of the National Christmas Tree. The public is invited to visit the National Christmas Tree and the 58 surrounding trees decorated by states, territories and schools managed by the Bureau of Indian Education and the Department of Defense from December 2nd through January 1st. You can watch this year's lighting festivities on December 11th. 

And our social media Picture of the Week, a foggy morning in northern California's King Range National Conservation Area. Part of the Golden State's rugged "Lost Coast," the King Range Area's 68,000 acres of undeveloped wilderness are managed by the Bureau of Land Management. 

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That's This Week at Interior. 

This Week: Interior Department leaders announce several new initiatives and policies at the 2022 White House Tribal Nations Summit; the Biden-Harris administration announces several critical agreements on the responsible international trade of wild animals and plants; there's a historic agreement to fight the worsening drought crisis impacting California's Salton Sea; the largest land volcano in the world wakes up for the first time in nearly 40 years; Secretary Haaland joins the First Family for the 100th lighting of the National Christmas Tree; and we visit California's Lost Coast in our social media Picture of the Week!