Press Releases

Today, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum visited Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky to spotlight the park’s geological and cultural significance, while also highlighting the Department’s ongoing commitment to ensuring our National Parks remain open and ready for peak season this summer.

Yesterday, Secretary Burgum joined Shannon Bream on Fox News Sunday to discuss how mining rare earth minerals in the United States is critical to increasing electricity production and winning the AI arms race against China. They also discussed government efficiency efforts in the Department of the Interior and how we are staffing up for peak season at our National Parks in anticipation for a great summer. 

In support of President Donald J. Trump’s directive to accelerate domestic critical mineral production, the Department of the Interior is taking steps to streamline permitting processes and improve federal accountability by working with Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council to add critical minerals infrastructure projects to the FAST-41 program. 

Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum today directed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to initiate the first step in a robust public engagement process to develop a new schedule for offshore oil and gas lease sales on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf.

Secretary Doug Burgum visited White Sands National Park in New Mexico today, home to the world’s largest gypsum dunefield and one of America’s most extraordinary landscapes.

Secretary Burgum met with U.S. Border Patrol and Bureau of Land Management personnel at the Santa Teresa Station, in New Mexico, where the Department of the Interior is transferring federal land along the U.S.-Mexico border to the Department of the Army to advance President Donald J. Trump's directive to secure the southern border.

Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum traveled to New Mexico today to announce the emergency withdrawal and transfer of administrative jurisdiction over approximately 109,651 acres of federal land along the U.S.-Mexico border. The land will be transferred to the Department of the Army for a period of three years, subject to valid existing rights.

Today, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum toured two Warrior Met Coal steelmaking coal facilities in Alabama to emphasize President Donald J. Trump’s executive order this week increasing American coal production and lifting regulations on the vital industry.

The Department of the Interior today announced a significant increase in estimated oil and gas reserves in the Gulf of America Outer Continental Shelf, underscoring the region’s critical role in advancing our country’s national security and American Energy Dominance.   

The Department of the Interior will no longer require the Bureau of Land Management to prepare an environmental impact statement for approximately 3,244 oil and gas leases in seven Western states.