This Week at Interior September 10, 2021

This Week, at Interior 

Saturday September 11th marks the twentieth anniversary of the deadliest terror attacks in American history. President Biden will visit all three 9/11 sites Saturday: New York City, the Pentagon, and the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Secretary Haaland will join Vice President Harris and former President Bush at a separate event at Shanksville Saturday morning. The memorial will be closed to the public during that event, but park grounds will reopen to all following the conclusion of the ceremony. And the National Park Service this week announced it's awarded New York's National September 11 Memorial & Museum a $2.5 million 9/11 Memorial Act grant. The funding will provide critical support for the continued operation, maintenance and security of the site. 

Secretary Haaland celebrated Labor Day this week at the grand opening of the Pullman National Monument visitor center. The monument recognizes the struggles of the Black workers who fought for fair wages, safe working conditions and limited working hours. The labor movement at Pullman is hailed as a marker in the American Civil Rights movement. In a video message the Secretary also wished all workers a happy Labor Day, calling them the backbone of our economy. 

In the midst of this horrible pandemic, our country has recognized the importance of essential workers – those who pick the food we put on our tables, teach our children, care for the sick, and put themselves at risk to keep our families healthy.The most important thing we can do to take care of our essential workers is to get vaccinated, because not everyone has the luxury of working from home.

Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Shannon Estenoz visited North Dakota this week. She met with landowners, and state and local leaders, to talk about Interior’s commitment to protecting critical wetlands and grasslands through voluntary conservation. 

Bryan Newland was ceremonially sworn in this week as the new Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs. He's a citizen and former Tribal President of the Bay Mills Indian Community in Michigan. Prior to that, Bryan served as Chief Judge of the Bay Mills Tribal Court and as a Counselor and Policy Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs during the Obama Administration. 

September is National Preparedness Month, and Interior is raising awareness about the importance of preparing for disasters and emergencies that could happen at any time. This year’s theme is "Prepare to Protect." Now is the time that everyone should have a conversation with their family, neighbors or loved ones to discuss what you would do in the event of a disaster in your area. 

The Bureau of Land Management this week opened a 30-day bidding period to lease more than 4,800 acres in the Milford Flats South Solar Energy Zone, in Beaver County, Utah. That solar energy zone has the potential to generate power for 100,000 homes and create more than 200 jobs. 

Interior’s Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance announced the recipients of the 2019 and 2020 Natural Resource Conservation Achievement Awards. Those awards recognize eight different categories that emphasize environmental conservation. Among the winners were twelve individuals and teams from the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement, the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and the Bureau of Reclamation. 

And our social media Picture of the Week, summer's almost over but there's still time to catch some zzzz's in the sun, like this white harbor seal at California Coastal National Monument. The monument extends for the entire coastline of the Golden State, nearly 850 miles in all, and includes nearly 20,000 rocky outcroppings, a favorite resting place for seals and seabirds. It's the most-popular national monument in California, and it's the perfect place for bird watching, fishing, picnicking, nature photography, and wildlife observation. 

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That’s This Week, at Interior