Latest U.S. Department of the Interior News

Biden creates Native American boarding school national monument to mark era of forced assimilation

Dec. 09, 2024 18:19 PM EST

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — President Joe Biden designated a national monument at a former Native American boarding school in Pennsylvania on Monday to honor the resilience of Indigenous tribes whose children were forced to attend the school and hundreds of similar abusive institutions. ...

North Dakota governor charts his path to Interior with a rosy state oil and gas outlook

Dec. 04, 2024 14:34 PM EST

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has given his choice for Interior secretary a mandate to “Drill baby drill,” and on Wednesday his pick, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, offered a rosy budget picture to lawmakers based largely on his state’s success in extracting near-record...

Trump promised federal recognition for the Lumbee Tribe. Will he follow through?

Nov. 29, 2024 20:28 PM EST

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — When Kamala Harris and Donald Trump campaigned in North Carolina, both candidates courted a state-recognized tribe there whose 55,000 members could have helped tip the swing state. Trump in September promised that he would sign legislation to grant federal...

National monument proposed for North Dakota Badlands, with tribes' support

Nov. 23, 2024 13:43 PM EST

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A coalition of conservation groups and Native American tribal citizens on Friday called on President Joe Biden to designate nearly 140,000 acres of rugged, scenic Badlands as North Dakota's first national monument, a proposal several tribal nations say would preserve the...

Trump gave Interior nominee one directive for a half-billion acres of US land: 'Drill.'

Nov. 22, 2024 12:23 PM EST

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Donald Trump assigned Doug Burgum a singular mission in nominating the governor of oil-rich North Dakota to lead an agency that oversees a half-billion acres of federal land and vast areas offshore: “Drill baby drill.” That dictate from the...

Trump names Interior-designee Doug Burgum to head new White House council on energy

Nov. 15, 2024 22:45 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump announced Friday that North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, his choice to head the Interior Department, will also lead a newly created National Energy Council that will seek to establish U.S. “energy dominance” around the world. Burgum,...

What to know North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, tapped by Trump to run the Interior Department

Nov. 15, 2024 17:55 PM EST

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump has chosen North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum to head the Interior Department. Some things to know about the two-term Republican governor of a sparsely populated state: Burgum's background is in business Burgum, 68, grew...

Trump says he will nominate North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum to lead Department of the Interior

Nov. 14, 2024 21:00 PM EST
PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Trump says he will nominate North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum to lead Department of the Interior.

Biden administration to restrict drilling, renewables in the US West to help struggling bird

Nov. 08, 2024 17:39 PM EST

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — President Joe Biden's administration on Friday proposed tighter restrictions on oil, solar and wind energy development across more than 6,500 square miles (17,000 square kilometers) of federal land in the U.S. West to protect a declining bird species. ...

Nevada lithium mine will crush rare plant habitat US said is critical to its survival, lawsuit says

Nov. 03, 2024 17:01 PM EST

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Conservationists and an advocacy group for Native Americans are suing the U.S. to try to block a Nevada lithium mine they say will drive an endangered desert wildflower to extinction, disrupt groundwater flows and threaten cultural resources. The Center for...