This Week at Interior May 5, 2023

This Week at Interior 

Secretary Haaland traveled to New Mexico this week to highlight the administration's Investing in America agenda. In Las Cruces, the Secretary announced a $12.6 million investment from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support the Brackish Groundwater National Desalination Research Facility, part of the all-of-government effort to enhance the resilience of the West to drought and climate change. Secretary Haaland also joined the Mescalero Apache Tribal community to celebrate the groundbreaking of a new joint bridge project between the Department of Transportation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs that will keep drivers safe and support the local economy.  

Today, the Secretary marked National Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day. It's a time to remember victims and their families, and to shine a light on an epidemic of violence that disproportionately plagues Indigenous communities. 

During her visit, Secretary Haaland met with the Missing and Murdered Unit she created, as well as a number of first responders. She traveled to Artesia to deliver keynote remarks at the 31st Annual Indian Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial, which honors Bureau of Indian Affairs law enforcement officers who were killed in the line of duty. She also met with BIA wildland firefighters who work alongside the teams on the Mescalero Apache Reservation to address fire management in the area. 

Deputy Secretary Tommy Beaudreau joined federal and local leaders at Acadia National Park in Maine to celebrate the groundbreaking of a new year-round maintenance facility. The new building will allow for more efficient park maintenance operations and improve universal access -- its construction is made possible by a $32.6 million investment from the Great American Outdoors Act. 

Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland wrapped up a weeklong tour of Alaska. He highlighted investments to advance Tribal climate resilience and combat the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous peoples. 

The Bureau of Reclamation this week broke ground on the Boone Reach trunk line of the Arkansas Valley Conduit - that's a major water infrastructure project funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that will provide clean, reliable drinking water to 50,000 Coloradans once completed. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water and Science Gary Gold and Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton joined local and federal leaders at the groundbreaking ceremony where they applauded the $60 million investment. 

The National Park Service this week awarded $9.7 million to 14 projects in 10 states as part of the Historic Preservation Fund’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities grant program. The program focuses on the repair of historic structures on the campuses of HBCU's. This year’s grants will support the preservation of sites like Hampton University’s Mansion House and Selma University’s Pollard Hall. 

And our social media Picture of the Week comes from Yellowstone National Park, where every spring playful and energetic bison calves or "red dogs" join the herd. Just minutes old, this newborn with its mom fights against a slight breeze to keep its balance, and hold itself up for the first time. 

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That’s This Week at Interior.