Department of the Interior

Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland speaks with reporters about visiting several communities and sites in Mississippi to honor individuals and events that advanced the Civil Rights Movement.

The U.S. looks to replace a derogatory name used hundreds of times on federal lands

4:30pm February 23, 2022

by Rina Torchinsky

The Department of the Interior wants the public to comment on name replacements for the more than 660 geographic features that contain a racial slur referring to Native Americans.

Deb Haaland, who made history this week by becoming the first indigenous interior secretary, promised to begin repairing a legacy of abuses committed by the federal government toward tribes.

The Celebration Over, Deb Haaland Now Faces a Long To-Do List at Interior

10:23am March 20, 2021

by Kirk Siegler

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland has a long and seemingly insurmountable to-do list, including a pledge to begin repairing a legacy of broken treaties and other abuses against tribes.

Queue Listen Now

The farewell letter that former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke posted to Twitter was barely legible, although he did also type out his missive.

Zinke's Handwritten Resignation Note: A Bear To Read, A Bone To Critics

11:06am January 03, 2019

by Daniella Cheslow

The outgoing interior secretary wrote his resignation letter in thick red ink. Now critics are piling on for his handwriting and his policies.

Wyoming attorney Karen Budd-Falen, recently named as Deputy Solicitor for Parks and Wildlife at the Department of the Interior, sits in her law office in Cheyenne, Wyo.

Critic Of Federal Public Lands Management To Join Department Of The Interior

4:47pm October 15, 2018

by Kirk Siegler

The Department of the Interior has chosen a prominent property rights attorney in Wyoming as their new deputy solicitor. Its a controversial appointment for environmental groups.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke speaks on the Trump administration's energy policy at the Heritage Foundation in Washington in September 2017. Nine of 12 members of the National Park Service advisory board resigned Monday citing Zinke's unwillingness to mee

Majority Of National Park Service Board Resigns, Citing Administration Indifference

4:02pm January 17, 2018

by Scott Neuman

The chairman of the board, former Alaska Gov. Tony Knowles, said in a letter that the Department of the Interior showed no interest in engaging with board members.

A grizzly bear roams near Beaver Lake in Yellowstone National Park, Wyo., in 2011.

Wildlife Activists Plan Lawsuits To Protect Yellowstone Grizzlies

5:24pm June 30, 2017

by Scott Neuman

The Northern Cheyenne Tribe and The Humane Society are among the organizations that will sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to keep the iconic carnivore on the endangered species list.

A small pond serves as the water source for a cattle ranch in Tallula, Ill. The 2015 Waters of the United States rule, or WOTUS, expanded federal protections to a broader range of water sources.

Trump Aims To 'Eliminate' Clean Water Rule

3:20pm February 28, 2017

The Obama-era "Waters of the United States" rule defines which small bodies of water are under U.S. authority. Opponents such as farmers, homebuilders and golf course owners say it poses a burden.