Press Releases

Today, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum visited Alcatraz Island in San Francisco, California in accordance with President Donald J. Trump's directive to assess reopening the notorious prison to house the most dangerous and violent criminals.

The Department of the Interior has updated its guidelines for states applying to federal programs aimed at cleaning up abandoned oil and gas wells. The revised guidance updates two federal grant programs, the $780 million Orphaned Wells State Matching Grant Program and the $1.93 billion Orphaned Wells State Formula Grant Program. The changes are meant to cut red tape and help states act faster. 

In line with President Donald J. Trump’s Energy Dominance agenda, the Department of the Interior is ending preferential treatment for unreliable, subsidy-dependent wind and solar energy. The move follows the signing of Executive Order 14315, Ending Market Distorting Subsidies for Unreliable, Foreign-Controlled Energy Sources, and implementation of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. 

The Department of the Interior today announced the conveyance of nearly 28,000 acres of land to NANA Regional Corporation, Inc., under Section 12(c) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, or ANCSA, bringing the total conveyed to NANA to more than 713,000 acres.

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, chair and vice chair of the National Energy Dominance Council (NEDC), today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to advance collaboration on energy and artificial intelligence (AI) with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel (Michael) Leiter.

The Department of the Interior has given the green light to Hurricane Creek Mining, LLC to mine coal on Bryson Mountain in Claiborne County, Tennessee.

The Department of the Interior is proposing critical updates to Bureau of Land Management oil and gas regulations that would make it easier for operators to combine production from multiple leases—a practice known as commingling.

Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum announced the launch of the Patriot Program – a three-year pilot initiative dedicated to restoring and revitalizing America’s public lands in honor of our nation’s 250th birthday.

Today, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, in coordination with U.S. President Donald J. Trump, announced reforms to modernize the federal environmental review process and prevent unnecessary regulations from being weaponized to delay American innovation and expansion.

As part of President Donald J. Trump’s America First Energy Agenda, the Department of the Interior today announced the availability of nearly $725 million in fiscal year 2025 funding to clean up abandoned coal mines and restore opportunity in America’s historic coal communities.