This Week at Interior August 27, 2021

Transcript:

This Week, at Interior 

Celebrating Women's Equality Day. It was 101 years ago this week that the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was certified, granting women the right to vote nationwide. Secretary Haaland, the first Native American Cabinet Secretary and the third woman to lead Interior, saluted the progress that's been accomplished, including the inauguration of the first female Vice President. But she acknowledged how far we have to go to achieve full equality. 

As we continue to work for more representation, equal pay and equality, we must ensure that all women, including trans and LGBTQ+ women, have opportunities to live their lives authentically without the burdens of systemic discrimination.

The Secretary was the keynote speaker this week at the 25th annual Lake Tahoe Summit. The summit brings together elected officials, policy makers, federal agencies, the private sector, and local community leaders in California and Nevada to collaboratively address environmental problems facing the Tahoe Basin. 

Interior crews were on the scene this week in the northeast as Tropical Storm Henri made landfall in New England. The storm's heavy rains caused flooding as far south as New Jersey, and USGS crews were deployed to keep tabs on water levels. Fish and Wildlife personnel were still assessing flood damage at several refuges and Interior law enforcement on hand to provide assistance to FEMA. 

Interior this week announced that the Bureau of Land Management is seeking public input on a commercial-scale wind energy facility proposed for BLM-managed public land in southern Idaho. The Lava Ridge Wind Energy Project has the potential to generate 1,000 megawatts of wind energy. The Biden-Harris administration has committed to increase renewable energy production on public lands and waters, including a target goal of permitting at least 25 gigawatts of onshore renewable energy by 2025. 

The Fish and Wildlife Service this week published its final regulations governing the annual Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Contest. Starting with the 2022 contest, Duck Stamp entries will no longer be required to include a waterfowl hunting reference in the art work. 

"Did You Feel It?" is the signature phrase of the U.S. Geological Survey, and if you were anywhere east of the Mississippi ten years ago this week, that answer is probably yes. On August 23rd, 2011 a 5.8 magnitude earthquake centered in Virginia rang the eastern third of the country like a bell, with shaking felt from the Carolinas to Canada, from the coast well into the Midwest. An estimated 70 million people experienced the earthquake, the most ever in North America. While it caused as much as $300 million in damage, not a single death or serious injury was reported. 

She's served for the last fifteen years in the Main Interior Building's Wellness Center, now Barbara Hayden is retiring this week after a nursing career spanning more than four decades. Nurse Hayden has provided a large range of preventative health services to Interior employees with a smile. Last March she traveled to Wisconsin to take part in FEMA’s mass COVID-19 vaccination clinic. 

And with our social media Picture of the Week, we're wishing a happy 105th birthday to the National Park Service, officially founded this week in 1916. There's no better image to mark that occasion than this stunning view of bison making their way through the colorful hot springs of Yellowstone, the world's first national park. 

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

That’s This Week, at Interior. 


 

This Week: Secretary Haaland celebrates Women's Equality Day, marking 101 years since women gained the right to vote with the 19th Amendment; the Secretary speaks at the 25th annual Lake Tahoe Summit, which brings together California and Nevada stakeholders in the name of collaborative conservation; Interior crews were on the scene as Tropical Storm Henri made landfall in New England; the Bureau of Land Management is seeking public input on a wind energy facility proposed for southern Idaho; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service publishes its final regulations governing the annual "Duck Stamp" contest; it's been ten years since the "most felt" earthquake in U.S. history; after a 40-year nursing career Interior's Barbara Hayden is retiring; and it's happy 105th birthday to the National Park Service in our social media Picture of the Week!

  • Video
    08/29/2025

    Inside Interior | August 29, 2025

    Video

    Transcript:

    This is Inside Interior.

    From minerals to monuments, from public safety to public lands, the Department of the Interior is focused on energy, security, and preserving what matters most to America.

    First up: the U.S. Geological Survey just released the draft 2025 List of Critical Minerals - designed to guide federal investments, permitting, and policy decisions. New additions to the list? Potash, silicon, copper, silver, rhenium, and lead. These additions strengthen domestic mining, streamline permitting, and boost U.S. mineral processing - ensuring America remains resource-secure and globally competitive.

    In more good news, Interior just announced 42 new hunting and sport fishing opportunities across 87,000 acres of public land - that's three times more than the last administration allowed. It's a win for conservation, the outdoor economy, and the American way of life.

    In Washington, D.C., crime is down, and our Park Police are stronger than ever. And now, thanks to President Donald Trump’s latest executive order, more park police officers are being hired to keep America’s capital safe and secure. To thank our law enforcement for their brave work and dedication, Secretary Doug Burgum and Interior employees hosted a cookout this week for our Park Police officers in D.C. 

    Additionally, Interior deputized Customs and Border Protection officers to work alongside our park police to end rampant crime in our nation's capital.

    Mark your calendars for July 23, 2026, which has been officially designated by Interior as the Day of the American West, honoring the people, values, and traditions that shaped this nation’s frontier.

    And this past Monday, we celebrated 109 years of the National Park Service. That’s over a century of protecting America’s most treasured landscapes, from Alaska to the monuments in D.C.

    At Interior, we are building a safer, stronger, and more self-reliant America.

    That's it for this edition of Inside Interior.

    Have a Happy Labor Day Weekend.

    News and headlines from around Interior August 29, 2025

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