This Week at Interior May 2, 2025

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This is Inside Interior. 

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Under President Donald Trump, the Department of the Interior is taking monumental action to unlock resources, empower local voices, and strengthen America’s energy independence. 

The Department of the Interior proposed rolling back the Biden-era Public Lands Rule which had locked up thousands of acres of federal land. Overturning this rule protects the Western way of life, restores local input, and protects the multiple-use access including energy and mineral production, timber management, grazing, and recreation on our nation’s public lands.  

In Wyoming, Interior approved a major expansion at the Black Butte Mine, unlocking 9.2 million tons of federal coal and fueling American energy jobs. 

To unify federal wildfire programs to better protect communities and support the firefighters on the front lines, the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture announced the creation of the U.S. Wildland Fire Service, a coordinated effort to modernize wildfire management under President Trump’s order.  

And in tribal communities, we’re cutting red tape to fast-track broadband deployment, speeding up approvals and powering up economic development. 

Interior is also launching new recruitment and retention initiatives to support President Trump's directive to reinforce our U.S. Park Police officers, hiring 450 more officers to bolster protection efforts at our treasured monuments and surrounding communities.  

Lastly, Secretary Doug Burgum delivered the closing address at the Shale Insight Conference in Pennsylvania to highlight how America is leading the global energy race.  

Secretary Burgum: “We want prosperity. We want to kill inflation. We want Americans to prosper. No Country has ever done it, no civilization has ever done it, unless they have affordable, reliable, plentiful, abundant energy.” 

That’s it for this week’s Inside Interior. 

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