This Week at Interior April 19, 2024

This Week at Interior

Secretary Haaland and Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland traveled to the United Nations in New York City this week for the 23rd Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. The Secretary delivered the National Statement on behalf of the United States outlining progress made under the Biden-Harris administration – from elevating co-stewardship to protecting Indigenous cultural heritage. The Interior delegation also met with leaders from Canada, Australia, Mexico and New Zealand to discuss shared priorities, including addressing the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples and Human Trafficking Crisis, climate change, and elevating Indigenous rights and representation on the global stage.

Secretary Haaland also traveled to New Mexico, where she signed a Public Land Order protecting more than 4,200 acres within the Placitas area from new mining claims and oil and gas development for a 50-year period. The order safeguards sacred Tribal lands, boosts important local recreation opportunities, and supports wildlife habitat connectivity. Interior continues to lead the way in advancing President Biden’s America the Beautiful initiative, which set the nation’s first-ever goal to conserve and restore at least 30 percent of U.S. lands and waters by 2030.  

Interior this week announced a final rule to revise oil and gas regulations within the Bureau of Land Management, to ensure responsible stewardship of America’s public lands. BLM’s Fluid Mineral Leases and Leasing Process rule revises outdated fiscal terms for the onshore federal oil and gas leasing program, which will increase returns to the public, and provide a disincentive for speculators and irresponsible actors. The rule protects American taxpayers and holds accountable oil and gas companies that are operating on public lands and waters -- it also helps keep drilling activities from conflicting with the protection of important wildlife habitat and cultural sites.  

Interior this week also announced a final rule from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to protect taxpayers from covering costs that should be borne by the oil and gas industry when offshore platforms require decommissioning. BOEM’s Risk Management and Financial Assurance for Outer Continental Shelf Lease and Grant Obligations Rule will better protect taxpayers from covering cleanup costs if companies fail to meet their decommissioning obligations by strengthening and simplifying financial assurance requirements.  

Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife announced the expansion of four national wildlife refuges this week. The expansion will allow for the voluntary conservation of up to 1.13 million acres of wildlife habitat in New Mexico, North Carolina and Texas. Under the Biden-Harris administration, the Service has added over 500,000 acres through voluntary land acquisition and conservation easements. Investing in and expanding the National Wildlife Refuge System, furthers the Department’s work to support community-driven efforts to conserve and restore the nation’s lands and waters through the President’s  America the Beautiful initiative.

Millions of Americans live within a mile of an abandoned coal mine. This week, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement announced more than $124.8 million in fee-based grants available to states and Tribes to reclaim abandoned coal mines. Those grants are funded in part by a fee collected on all coal produced in the United States. This complements the more than $11.3 billion provided through the President’s Investing in America agenda for states and Tribes to address abandoned coal mine land reclamation. 

National Park Week kicks off April 20th with a fee free day at any national park that charges for admission. The annual celebration is a time to explore amazing places and discover stories of history and culture. National Park Week runs through April 28th. Find your park at nps.gov.  

And our social media Picture of the Week... this fuzzy feathered fellow, a piping plover standing on a sandy beach, its classic habitat. Piping plovers, an endangered species, can be found in the eastern two thirds of North America from Texas to Canada. Populations are recovering slowly, but they can still use your help. Next time you're at the beach watch for signs designating piping plover protection zones around their nesting sites.

Make sure you follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

That's This Week at Interior!