Secretary Haaland Celebrates Major Accomplishment for Species Conservation, Highlights President’s Investing in America Agenda in Arizona

Date: Thursday, September 5, 2024
Contact: Interior_Press@ios.doi.gov

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — This week, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland traveled to Arizona, where she joined the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to announce the delisting of the Apache Trout from the Endangered Species list — a major accomplishment for species conservation — and highlighted how President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is strengthening Indian Country through historic investments in electrification and upgraded water sanitation systems.  

In Phoenix on Tuesday, Secretary Haaland hosted a roundtable with Tribal representatives and leaders from the financial, philanthropic and nonprofit sectors to discuss innovative approaches to expand economic development and investment in Tribal communities across the country. They discussed the implementation of Executive Order 1411, President Biden’s call to ensure equitable funding for Tribes that he announced at the 2023 White House Tribal Nations Summit. The Biden-Harris administration has ushered in a new era for Tribal self-determination, investing $45 billion directly into strengthening Indian Country from President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. This is the third roundtable that Secretary Haaland has hosted across the nation. 

On Wednesday, Secretary Haaland joined Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, White Mountain Apache Tribe Chairman Kasey Velasquez, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Deputy Director Siva Sundaresan, and conservation partners at a celebration in Mesa to announce that the Apache Trout, Arizona’s state fish, is being removed from the federal list of endangered and threatened wildlife. The result of more than five decades of collaborative recovery efforts and a vital $5.1 million from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the successful restoration marks the first sportfish delisted due to recovery — a significant conservation victory under the Endangered Species Act. 

After a visit with the Hopi Tribe, on Thursday Secretary Haaland and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan announced $300 million through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda for Tribal communities to combat climate pollution and accelerate the clean energy transition. As part of the announcement, the Hopi Tribe will receive more than $20 million to provide renewable and reliable electricity to nearly 900 homes.  

Earlier this year, Secretary Haaland traveled to the Hopi reservation to announce a $4.2 million award through the Department’s Tribal Electrification program, an important step toward the goal of electrifying all homes in the United States with clean energy sources and advances our work to reach a carbon pollution-free electricity sector by 2035. President Biden's Investing in America agenda is deploying transformational investments to provide affordable high-speed internet, safer roads and bridges, modern wastewater and sanitations systems, clean drinking water, reliable and affordable electricity, and good paying jobs in every Tribal community. 

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